“LOST NATIONAL TREASURE” DISCOVERED!

Compiled by Robert E. Swinson & Edited by Greg Biggs

Hardee/Cleburne 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag Issued to the 32nd & 45th Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Field Consolidated)

HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Pattern Flag Confederate Regimental Battle Flag Issued February 1864 to: 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Consolidated); 45 th Mississippi Also Known As 33 rd (Hardcastle’s) And Third Battalion Mississippi Infantry

Copyrighted: 2002-2006 – Robert E. Swinson

HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

Table of Contents

“Lost National Treasure” Discovered 3

Introduction 4

Lowrey’s Brigade and the Third Mississippi Infantry Battalion; 32nd Mississippi, 33rd Mississippi (Hardcastle’s) and 45th Mississippi Infantry Regiments 4

Hardee Pattern Battle Flags; and the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi Flag 22

The “Colorful” Flag Bearer of the Third Battalion Mississippi Infantry 27

Virtual CSA Purple Heart Award 33

What Lowrey’s Brigade Faced at the Battle of Franklin From Soldiers’ Views 33

Carnton Plantation and McGavock Confederate Cemetery 38

Fountain B. Carter House and Battle of Franklin 40

Finding This Flag and Discovering Its Heritage 41

Flag Authentication 43

Unpublished Sources - Documents and Items of Support 44

Published Sources (Partial List) - Documents and Items of Support 46

Additional Identified Sources (Mostly Unpublished) 46

Contact Information 47

Work in progress 47

Civil War Flag, Regiment and Name Research Services Available 47

May 8, 2006 2 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Pattern Flag Confederate Regimental Battle Flag Issued February 1864 to: 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Consolidated); 45 th Mississippi Also Known As 33 rd (Hardcastle’s) And Third Battalion Mississippi Infantry

Hardee/Cleburne 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag Issued to the 32nd & 45th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Field Consolidated)

(Copyrighted: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 – Robert E. Swinson) Notice of Copyright: The images, photos, drawings, description and provenance of this Civil War Confederate Hardee/Cleburne 1864 (Type 1) pattern regimental battle flag [hereinafter “flag”] issued in February 1864 to the 32nd & 45th Regiment Mississippi Volunteer Infantry (Field Consolidated) are protected by copyright and all proprietary rights are reserved. Any use, display, reproduction, distribution or preparation of derivative works that pertain to this flag or the color bearer, Corporal Joseph Thomas McBride, is expressly prohibited without prior written permission.

“LOST NATIONAL TREASURE” DISCOVERED!

Compiled by Robert E. Swinson & Edited by Greg Biggs

“This flag [issued to the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi] should be out there for the public [to view] - like going back to Washington, D.C. and seeing all those documents and things at the Smithsonian and the National Archives.”

Jean S. Hubler, Historical Genealogist, February 25, 2006 May 8, 2006 3 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

Introduction - This Hardee/Cleburne 1864 (Type 1) pattern battle flag’s provenance and history is at the top of the “Who’s Who – What’s What” list of regimental banners issued in the Western Theater of America’s War of the Rebellion!! It was carried at the front of one of Mississippi’s most famous regiments whose antecedent units fought in numerous major battles under the direct orders of Confederate leaders such as Lieutenant General William Joseph Hardee, Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne and Brigadier General Mark Perrin Lowrey; also generals , P.G.T. Beauregard, , Joseph E. Johnston, , and Sterling Alexander Martin “S.A.M.” Wood.

General William J. Hardee General Patrick R. Cleburne General Mark P. Lowrey General John Bell Hood

Lowrey’s Brigade and the Third Mississippi Infantry Battalion, 32 nd Mississippi / 33 rd Mississippi (Hardcastle’s) and 45 th Mississippi Infantry Regiments - The units represented by this flag had a long battle history in the Western Theater, and received many commendations during the Civil War. Special Orders, No. 151, was issued at Richmond, on September 12, 1861 directing newly appointed First Lieutenant A.B. Hardcastle to proceed to Memphis, Tennessee, and report for duty to General Albert Sidney Johnston, commanding Department Numbers 2. On November 16, 1861, First Lieutenant Aaron B. Hardcastle was appointed Major in the Provisional Army of the Confederacy with the authority from his friend, Gen. Albert S. Johnston, then commander of the Confederate Armies in the West, to raise a battalion. Thus, the Civil War history and provenance attributed to this flag began with the formation in November 1861 of the Third Mississippi Battalion Volunteer Infantry that would eventually be commanded by Major Aaron B. Hardcastle.

John S. Carothers, Company B, 3 rd Mississippi Battalion, wrote about the formation of his battalion in the , April 1898:

“In the early part of 1861, when volunteering was at high tide and the state government was unprepared and unable to arm and equip the troops as fast as tendered, Gov. Pettus ordered the commands to rendezvous at Jackson, to drill and become inured to camplife until arms could be procured and equipage prepared, before turning them into the Confederate service. In response to this call seven companies were assembled at the capital [Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi]. Company A, Capt. Duncan, was enlisted in Hinds (and Simpson) County, Company B, Capt. Henry W. Martin, Itawamba County, Company C, Capt. E. F. Nunn, Noxubee County, Company D, Capt. Hammett, Choctaw County, Company E, Capt. McNair, Amite County, Company F, Capt. Wolf, Tippah County, Company G, Capt. William Houston, Pontotoc County.

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“Because aspiring men had obtained permission to raise commands for their special colonelcy, the project of recruiting three more companies to the seven, to make a regiment, was frustrated. These companies grew impatient of the delay, and the daily rountine of camp duties grew monotonous as they read of exhibitions of glorious courage of their brothers in arms at the front. Each company was camped to itself, but they were in contiguous camps, as a convenience for medical aid, for the distribution of commissary and quartermaster supplies, and the division of camp duties, such as patrolling and guarding.

“…A spirit of jealousy and unjust rivalry as to organization and the leadership of the composite command entered and developed a species of electioneering, moving, and checkmating among the aspirants that is refreshing to recall. At this juncture A. B, Hardcastle,…one of the escort that came with Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston across the plains from California, entered as a formidable competitor for the honors, and his prestige as a soldier and by his preferment with authorities at Richmond and with Gen. Johnston, he was installed as major over companies A, B, and C [sic-E], the other companies having been ordered to New Orleans. The commands, being constituted and christened the Third Mississippi Battalion of Infantry, as an exigency, were ordered to Bowling Green, Ky., landing there in December (1861). The other four companies (C, D, F, and G) having shipped to New Orleans, were without a commander, save the assumption of Senior Capt. Wolf [Capt. Francis A. Wolff, Company F], who, from his age and experience as a soldier in the war with Mexico, was accepted pro tem. as leader. After a short separation the troops at New Orleans were ordered to rejoin us at Bowling Green, which they did a few days before its evacuation and the retrograde movement of the army prior to the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson, in February, 1862.”

These seven companies had enrolled around the state between August 10 and November 13, 1861 and were assembled at Camp Anderson, near Jackson in Hinds County, Mississippi, arriving there in between November and mid-December. As of December 17, 1861 the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion was organized into seven companies by Major Hardcastle: A – The Duncan Riflemen; B – The Insurgents of Itawamba County; C – The Mississippi Rebels of Noxubee County; D – The Choctaw Rough and Readies; E – The McNair Rifles; F – The Tippah Highlanders; and G – The Mississippi Volunteers of Pontotoc County.

General Albert Sidney Johnston, CSA Colonel Aaron Bascom Hardcastle, CSA May 8, 2006 5 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

Soon after being organized, the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion was divided, with three companies, A, B and E, sent by train on December 26th to Bowling Green, to join Albert Sidney Johnston’s Army of Central Kentucky, and were assigned to Brig. Gen. S.A.M. Wood’s Brigade of Major General William J. Hardee’s Corps; and four companies, C, D, F and G, under the command of Capt. Francis A. Wolff, Company F, were sent to New Orleans to recruit and assist in the defense of the city. In two letters to Brig. Gen. S.A.M. Wood, Hardcastle informed Gen. Wood that his prospects for forming a regiment from his seven companies were very good. This separation became of great concern to Hardcastle in January 1862, because, according to Hardcastle in a letter written January 7, 1862, Capt. Wolff was a “junior” Captain without any military experience or means of instructing his new and inexperienced recruits, and the companies were deficient in equipments, arms and clothing. In the event these four companies could not be recalled, Governor Pettus of Mississippi suggested and urged the transfer of Hardcastle and his other three companies to Louisiana so Hardcastle could have the seven companies together as one unit. Hardcastle felt that would ensure the organization of a regiment.

The Legislature of Mississippi passed an act in the fall of 1861 that called out ten thousand men for sixty days service in the Confederate army. They were to arm and equip themselves for an emergency. Neighbors of Rev. Mark Perrin Lowrey around Kossuth, a little village nine miles southwest of Corinth in Old Tishomingo County, Mississippi, raised a company and elected him Captain of it, urging that he could go with them for sixty days and that it was his duty to do so. Rev. Lowrey was not able to refuse their request, and within a few days he was with this newly raised company in Corinth, their place of rendezvous. When a regiment was organized, Capt. Lowrey was almost unanimously elected Colonel. About the first of December 1861, the new regiment was fully organized and numbered by the State as the Fourth Regiment of Sixty-Days' Volunteers.

Col. Mark Perrin Lowrey was a Baptist minister by profession, and was affectionately known later in the Civil War as the “fighting preacher of the Army of Tennessee.” Enlistments for members of Col. Lowrey’s 4 th Mississippi Regiment of 60- Day Volunteers (aka 2 nd Regiment, ) expired by February 1862. After the fall of Fort Donelson on February 16, 1862, men from his 4 th Mississippi 60-Day Regiment wanted to volunteer again, and their parents, friends and neighbors begged Col. Lowrey to raise a new regiment, to which he finally agreed. It was raised during March 1862 in Old Tishomingo County from the remains of Col. Lowrey’s 4 th Mississippi Regiment of 60-Day Troops and members of the 26 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment who were not at Fort Donelson when it was surrendered. This new regiment was organized at Corinth, Mississippi and officers elected on April 3, 1862. Lowrey was unanimously elected Colonel at that time in command of the new unit, and it was designated the Thirty- Second Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment. After the war, Lowrey wrote:

“At the close of our term (as the 4 th Mississippi Regiment of 60-Days' Volunteers) we were discharged, and I felt that my military career was at an end. I attempted to return to civil life and to take care of my Christian congregations.

“But after the fall of Fort Donelson, the clamor for my services in the field so increased that it was irresistible. Many who had been with me in the sixty days' State service, and who wanted to volunteer for the war begged me to go with them. Old ladies

May 8, 2006 6 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag and old gentlemen earnestly entreated me to go with their sons. Tishomingo County had lost a regiment at Fort Donelson (the 26 th Mississippi), and our people resolved to put another in the field in its place, and I was selected to raise and organize it. Our state was threatened with invasion, and Tishomingo County was the threatened point. All felt that every man who could bear arms should rise up and stand between his home and the enemy, and he (who) would not do so was deemed unworthy to be called a Mississippian. Churches felt that they had no use for pastors then - fighting men were in demand. I was restless and my blood was hot within me. The thought of sitting still until the enemy would overrun my home and family was more than I could bear. The result is soon told; I raised and organized the 32 nd Mississippi regiment in a little less time than any other regiment was ever raised and organized in North Mississippi.

“This was a few days before the ; but at the time of that battle the regiment had not been equipped or armed, and was not in the fight, but we received prisoners and captured property, and accompanied prisoners to the interior.” [Former Brigadier-General Mark P. Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

Assigned to General S.A.M. Wood’s Brigade of Hardee’s Corps, Major Aaron B. Hardcastle and his 3 rd Mississippi Battalion first “saw the elephant” at the Battle of Shiloh (aka Pittsburg Landing), April 6-7, 1862, where Hardcastle was recognized for gallantry and his men credited with firing the first Confederate shots of the battle by his superiors. In the Official Records , Major Hardcastle described his battalion’s activities during their inaugural battle, without mentioning the fact that he was slightly wounded and had been hit more than once:

“On the evening of the 5th (of April) I occupied a post of picket with the body of my battalion a quarter of a mile in front of our brigade, Numbers 190, 8 flankers on the right and 22 on the left, deployed at intervals of 12 paces. We covered the front of the brigade. An advance party of 7 men, under command of Lieutenant [Felix W.] Hammock [Company D], were posted 200 yards in front of my center. Another party, under the command of Lieutenant (William M.) McNulty (Company E), of 8 men, were posted 100 yards in front of my center; three-quarters were deployed. Indications of the enemy's approach were made known to these officers by singular beats on the drum in the enemy's lines just before dawn.

“About dawn the cavalry vedettes fired three shots, wheeled, and galloped back. Lieutenant Hammock suffered the enemy to approach within 90 yards. Their lines seemed about 350 yards long and to number about 1,000. He fired upon them and joined his battalion with his men. Lieutenant McNulty received the enemy with his fire at about 100 yards, and then joined his battalion with his men, when the vedettes rode back to my main position. At the first alarm my men were in line and all ready. I was on a rise of ground, men kneeling. The enemy opened a heavy fire on us at a distance of about 200 yards, but most of the shots passed over us. We returned the fire immediately and kept it up. Captain Clare, aide to General Wood, came and encouraged us. We fought the enemy an hour or more without giving an inch.

“Our loss in this engagement was: Killed, 4 privates; severely wounded, 1 sergeant, 1 corporal, and 8 privates, and slightly wounded, color-sergeant and 9 privates.

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”At about 6.30 a. m. I saw the brigade (Wood’s) formed in my rear and I fell back. Captain Hume's [sic-Hughes] company (D), bearing the colors, formed promptly at the command halt. I formed and took position in the brigade line of battle near the right. We advanced, dressing to the right, I charging the first camp of the enemy. I was ahead of my battalion a short distance and lost myself from it by going too far to the left. During my separation of about an hour I fought with the Sixteenth Alabama Regiment and changed front. The battalion had moved a little to the right toward an open field. When I rejoined them they were marching forward in line against the enemy on a changed front. We halted on the right of our brigade and received a heavy fire from the enemy. We replied briskly and continued firing for some time. The enemy were driven off by a combined movement from our left.

“Our loss was: Killed, Captain (Joel) Hughes, of Company D, while exposed in front, of his company following the colors; Corporal (Thomas) Reeves (Jr.), of Company E, color-bearer, and 4 privates. Severely wounded, 2 sergeants and 2 privates; and slightly wounded, 1 acting assistant surgeon, Lieutenant Reeves, of Company C; 1 sergeant, 1 corporal, and 10 privates.

“Monday morning, the 7th instant, I started back to the battle-field about 8 o'clock, by orders of Colonel McKoin. On the way we took different roads, and I did not see again until evening McKoin's and Harris' regiments, with whom I started. My men were much exhausted and worn-out. They marched very slowly. On the way a Louisiana company (commanded by a lieutenant) and a few others joined me. I approached a deserted camp of the enemy and heard firing toward the left and in front. I flanked to the left, and moved forward to an old field in front of, and to the right of, a burning house. I met many scattering soldiers falling back, who said to me, ‘You are to late.’ The Louisianians and a few of my men fell back with them.

“I had numbered about 110 in the morning; I now had about 70 or 100. With these I posted myself behind the logs and trees on the edge of the field. The enemy was seen on the opposite side, with his battery. A terrible fire opened upon us of canister and musketry.

“My men silenced their battery and drove back their infantry. Unmolested we moved across the field and took the battery.

“Posted behind the trees and logs we saw the enemy formed within 40 yards of us in line and in close order. I held my fire, believing them friends. At the command, ‘Don't shoot,’ the enemy deceived themselves and unfurled their flag. We poured into them a deadly fire. They replied fiercely and retired.

“Our loss here was Captain R. H. McNair, of Company E, who stood gallantly exposed, cheering his men to stand bravely and fire coolly (severely wounded and since died), and 2 privates severely, and 1 sergeant and 3 privates slightly, wounded. Afterwards I heard no firing on my right or left. I knew the enemy was present near both flanks. I saw the Confederates scattered and retiring, and I moved back in good order, passing around the field.” [Major A. B. Hardcastle, Commanding Third Mississippi Battalion, Official Records , (April) 1862]

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Brig. Gen. S.A.M. Wood personally recognized Major Hardcastle for his gallantry and confirmed Hardcastle receiving at least two or more slight wounds:

“No advance occurred on Saturday (April 5th). Major Hardcastle's battalion was thrown out 400 yards in advance, on picket duty, during the night; Colonel (James L.) McKoin (with 55 th Tennessee) in rear as a reserve…We slept on our arms in line of battle on Saturday night. As early as 5 o'clock Sunday morning firing occurred between our pickets and the enemy. I sent Captain Clare, of my staff, to instruct Major Hardcastle to hold his position until the brigade came up. The order was faithfully carried and executed.

“It is proper to notice the great gallantry displayed on Sunday by Major Hardcastle. He was slightly wounded and hit more than once. At one time, in a charge, having been separated from his battalion, he seized a musket, joined the ranks, and cheering the men, charged with the Sixteenth Alabama Regiment.” [Brig. Gen. S.A.M. Wood, Comdg. Third Brig., Hardee's Corps, Army of the Miss., Official Records , near Corinth, Miss., April 15, 1862]

Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee, who also credited Hardcastle’s men with firing the first shots of the battle, saw great promise for the young major:

“The order was given to advance at daylight on Sunday, April 6. The morning was bright and bracing. At early dawn the enemy attacked the skirmishers in front of my line, commanded by Major (now Colonel) Hardcastle, which was handsomely resisted by that promising young officer. My command advanced, and in half an hour the battle became fierce.” [Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee, Official Records , February 7, 1863]

Not long after Shiloh the seven companies of the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion were increased to regimental status with the addition of three more companies: Companies H and I were men from the 27 th Alabama not taken prisoner when Fort Donelson was surrendered; and Company K - “Charlton Rebels,” an independent Mississippi company commanded by Captain Richard Charlton. Hardcastle was elected on April 19, 1862 to command the newly organized Thirty-Third Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment and promoted to Colonel, and Charlton was promoted by election to Lieutenant Colonel.

Col. Hardcastle’s 33 rd Mississippi and Col. Lowrey’s 32 nd Mississippi were with Gen. Braxton Bragg as members of Gen. S.A.M. Wood’s Brigade, assigned to Gen. Simon B. Buckner’s Division, during Bragg’s invasion of Kentucky by the Army of Mississippi from August to October 1862. In late August 1862, Lt. Col Richard Charlton assumed command of Hardcastle’s 33 rd Mississippi Regiment after Col. Hardcastle’s right leg was severely fractured by a horse kick. Hardcastle didn’t return and resume command of his regiment until sometime between November 21 and November 24, 1863, just prior to the November 25th Battle of Tunnel Hill on Missionary Ridge in Tennessee.

Wood’s Brigade was with Gen. Bragg at Munfordville, Kentucky, where the Battle of the Green River Bridge and siege of Fort Craig took place in mid-September, 1862. Both regiments participated with Wood’s Brigade, and members of Maney’s Brigade, in the capture of Lt. Charles C. Parsons’ Federal battery at the (aka Chaplin Hills) in Kentucky on October 8, 1862, and Wood’s Brigade received a

May 8, 2006 9 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag commendation in December 1862 for this accomplishment. One source stated that Hardcastle’s regiment participated in the Siege of Munfordville after the first day of battle as the 33 rd Mississippi, and fought at Perryville as the 38 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment in “Juniority” due to the duplication of regimental numbers and while waiting to receive a new designation number from the state. In 1867, Gen. Lowrey reflected on changes in command and some events of Bragg’s Kentucky Campaign:

“At Chattanooga, before the (Kentucky) campaign commenced, the army was organized. Gen. Hardee was placed in command of a corps and Major-Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner placed in command of (our) division. As soon as the army entered Kentucky, Gen. Buckner left the division for a time to encourage the enlistment of Kentucky troops, and Gen. Wood being the senior brigadier, was placed in command of the division, which left me in command of the brigade. I had engaged in some active skirmishing about Corinth, but the Battle of Perryville was the first regular engagement I was ever in. Just before the commencement of the battle, Gen. Buckner resumed the command of the division and Gen. Wood of the Brigade, which sent me back to my regiment. But before we got near the enemy Gen. Wood was slightly wounded by a shell, and I resumed the command of the brigade. So, I commanded a brigade in the first battle I was ever engaged in. But I was soon painfully wounded in my left arm, by which I was disabled about eight weeks.”

In 1902, Private Jesse T. Cheeves, of Company A, wrote a more graphic account about the 32 nd Mississippi Regiment in Wood’s Brigade at the Battle of Perryville:

“Curlee (Private Rufus L. Curlee, Company A) was killed in the last charge at Perryville. W.H. Rees (Private William H. Rees, Company A), lost his left arm the same day by a cannon ball. [Correction: was wounded and had his left arm amputated.] The man in the rear rank behind Rees was struck in the chest by the same ball and knocked ten or twelve feet and instantly killed. The writer was to the right of Rees, his left arm touching Rees' right, when he fell. We were exposed to a terrible fire of solid shot and shell. The writer noticed one ball that fell just in front of the line; it was about the size and length of a Masons fruit jar, but in the shape of a minnie ball. We remained an hour under very heavy cannon fire. Sometimes the balls would come as fast as the stroke of a clock. They made all kinds of noise as they passed over. Sometimes it seemed they would dip down after us as they passed over the line. Twelve or fourteen feet behind our line was a large shell bark hickory nut tree full of nuts. Now and then a ball would pass through the top and bark and nuts would fairly rain down. At 2 o'clock p.m. our line of battle moved forward, the enemy being just across an opposite range of hills, the valley between us being from 600 to 800 yards wide. Our cannon ceased firing until the line had advanced far enough for the balls to pass over heads. Our guns behind us and the enemy's in front and the roar of musketry between made such a noise as the boys had never heard. We were in a field all the time and tore the fences down as we advanced. We drove the yanks from behind one rock fence. The writer was talking with a comrade a few months ago who was wounded just before we crossed this fence and lay upon the field until 3 o'clock at night. Our victory was complete. Our brigade captured a battery. Company A lost seven brave men killed and many wounded. We fought close to Company D, made up at Kossuth, and a fine company it was. The next day General Bragg continued his retreat to Knoxville, which we reached October 23. We were soon ordered to .... ”

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In late October 1862, Col. Lowrey’s 32 nd Mississippi Infantry and Hardcastle’s 33 rd Mississippi Infantry, commanded by Lt. Col. Charlton, in Wood’s Brigade with Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Army of Mississippi, retreated through the Cumberland Mountains and marched toward Morristown in East Tennessee. Within eight days they moved southwest on the East Tennessee railroad to Chattanooga, Tennessee. From there they moved through the gorge of Sand Mountain and then down the Tennessee River to Bridgeport, Alabama where they crossed the Tennessee River, and moved north, by train, up Crow Creek Gorge through the Cumberland Mountain tunnel and into Middle Tennessee. Their final destination was the Stones River Valley and the occupation of Murfreesboro in Rutherford County, Tennessee. The Record of Events of the 32 nd Mississippi for November and December 1862 show the Regiment to be 24 miles south of Murfreesboro in Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee.

On November 20, 1862, the Army of Mississippi was re-designated as the Army of Tennessee. Because there was another 33rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment (Hurst‘s- Drake’s), Hardcastle’s 33 rd Mississippi Volunteers was re-designated the Forty-Fifth Mississippi Regiment Volunteer Infantry on or about November 29, 1862. On that date, Special Order No. 49 from Headquarters, Department No. 2, was issued that transferred the former members of the 27 th Alabama who had not been captured at Fort Donelson, and had been attached as companies H and I of the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion, back to their old regiment. Lt. Col. Charlton remained in command of the re-designated 45 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment. On December 12th Major General Simon B. Buckner was transferred and his division was given to newly promoted Major General Patrick R. Cleburne.

The 32 nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment, commanded by Col. Mark P. Lowrey, and the 45 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, commanded by Lt. Col. Richard Charlton, participated as separate units in Brig. Gen. S.A.M. Wood’s brigade during the Battle of Murfreesboro (aka Stones River), December 31, 1862 – January 2, 1863. On December 31st, Lowrey’s 32 nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment was on detached duty to guard the railroad line between Normandy Station and New Fosterville. It was actively involved in the skirmishing that followed the first day’s fight. In 1867, Lowrey wrote briefly about his regiment’s involvement at Murfreesboro:

“At the Battle of Murfreesboro, my regiment (32 nd Mississippi) was detached for special service, and did not engage in the first day's fight, but took an active part in the skirmishing that followed it, and I was left to bring off the brigade in the retreat from that place.” [Former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

However, the remainder of Wood’s Brigade, including the 45 th Mississippi, was heavily engaged at the Battle of Murfreesboro, at least during the early part of the three-day engagement, and the commanding officers gave just recognition for services rendered:

“To my officers commanding I beg leave to call attention. Col. William B. Wood, of the Sixteenth Alabama, was always in the lead. Located on the right, and subjected by our position to a cross-fire-from the fact that the lines to our right were always behind us-he carried his regiment forward, driving the enemy before him. Colonel (Samuel) Adams, of the Thirty-third Alabama, and Lieutenant-Colonel (Richard) Charlton, of the Forty-fifth

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Mississippi; also Major (E.F.) Nunn, of that regiment, and Major (J.F.) Cameron, of the Third Confederate Regiment, are deserving of particular notice.” [Brig. Gen. S.A.M. Wood, Commanding, Wood’s Brigade, Cleburne’s Division, Tullahoma, Tennessee, January 11, 1863; Official Records ]

“In addition to the officers and men already mentioned in my report, the following officers and men have been brought to my notice for distinguished services on the field. I hope it will be considered no disparagement of the services of other brave men of my division, some of whom laid down their lives or lost limbs on this field, if their gallant deeds have been overlooked in this report.

“In Wood's brigade I must specially mention the following officers and men of the Sixteenth Alabama, viz: Col. W.B. Wood and Adjt. B.A. Wilson (wounded); Captain (William) Hodges, Company F; Lieutenant (C.) Davis, Company B; Lieutenant (G.W.W.) Jones, Company G; Lieutenant (G.) Pride, Company A; Lieutenant (C.F.) Carson, Company C, who remained fighting after he was wounded; Lieutenant (D.O.) Warren, Company F; Lieutenant (Thomas J.) Salter, Company D, who was wounded, but returned to the field the moment his wound was dressed; Sergt. Major Robert H. Cherry and Private Harvey G. Sargent, of Company H; Privates William Boyce and James Peeden, of Company C; Sergeant Bowen, Company H; Sergt. H.W. Rutland, Company A; Privates Peter White, Company F; Robert Williams, Company B, and H.D. Smith, Company A; the latter, wounded in both legs, deserve promotion. In the Forty-fifth Mississippi: Lieutenant- Colonel (Richard) Charlton, Major (E.F.) Nunn, Adjt. Frank Foster, jr., Sergeants Asberry, Doolittle, Morrison, Vaughan, Stewart, Lieut. G. W. Williams [aka “L.G.,” “Green W.” and “Lemuel Green” Williams; author of 1894 letter in Confederate Veteran about Joe McBride, color bearer], Sergeant-Major Kern, Corporals Mallett, Hackler, and Read, and Private McChadin. Corporal Read volunteered to carry the colors after the color-bearer had been shot down. He is well qualified as an officer, and ought to be promoted. In the Thirty-third Alabama: Colonel (Samuel) Adams, Captains (W.E.) Dodson and Thomas Seay [severely wounded, in advance], Sergeant-Major Mizell (mortally wounded), Corpl. Isaac R. Smith, Company C; Sergeant Stewart, Company H; Privates Byrd, Company I; Foster, Company E, and Riley, Company D. In the Third Confederate: Major (J.F.) Cameron. Wood's Sharpshooters: Captain (A.T.) Hawkins.” [Major General Patrick R. Cleburne, Commanding, Cleburne’s Division, Tullahoma, Tennessee, January 31, 1863; Official Records ]

The 32 nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment and the 45 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment were consolidated in the field following their retreat from the battle at Murfreesboro with Wood’s Brigade, commanded by Col. Lowrey, and shortly after their arrival on January 8, 1863 at Tullahoma in Coffee County, Tennessee where their Winter Quarters was established on the south bank of the Duck River. It is believed their field consolidation occurred on or about January 10, 1863 after Gen. Braxton Bragg ordered former members of the 26 th Mississippi who were not captured at Fort Donelson, and had been attached to the 32 nd Mississippi since March 1862, to return to their original unit. This new consolidated unit was designated the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment (Field Consolidated) and placed under the command of Col. Mark P. Lowrey. During the summer of 1863, the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) participated in the Tullahoma

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Campaign in Tennessee. After the war, Gen. Lowrey wrote about the consolidation, spring camp and the Tullahoma Campaign:

“Early in 1863, at Tullahoma, the 45 th Mississippi regiment was consolidated with mine, and I was placed in command of the consolidated regiments. Up to this time I had but little opportunity to drill my regiment, but at Tullahoma, in the spring of 1863 we drilled for several months, and my regiment became very proficient in drill. In an inspection by Gen. Hardee of each regiment of Wood's brigade, drilling separated, my regiment was pronounced by him the best drilled regiment of the brigade, and the regiment was compliment(ed) in a general order. In the small fights and skirmishes that preceded the retreat from Middle Tennessee in July 1863, my regiment took an active part.” [Former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

At the Battle of Chickamauga, September 19-20, 1863 in northern , the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated), commanded by Col. Mark Lowrey, faced deadly fire and suffered heavy losses. Lowrey provided a brief account of his regiment’s activities at Chickamauga in his 1867 letter:

“The next regular battle in which I was engaged was that of Chickamauga, Sept 19- 20, 1863. In that, after a gallant charge, made by Clebourne's division on the evening of the first day, in which we drove the enemy from a strong position, and in which my regiment charged gallantly through an open field on the most exposed part of the line, Gen. Clebourne complimented me personally, but the gallantry displayed was not mine, but that of my men. In the engagement the next morning, when we charged the enemy's works and were repulsed with heavy loss, my regiment was, I think, in the most exposed part of the line, but held its position until all the troops had retreated, both on the right and left, and then was the first regiment to rally and form for another onset.” [Former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

Following this battle, Gen. Cleburne personally bestowed compliments on Col. Mark P. Lowrey again, and Lowrey and his command were favorably noticed in Cleburne’s official report. Lowrey was promoted to Brigadier General immediately following the battle and his appointment to this rank was effective October 04, 1863. Brig. Gen. S.A.M. Wood resigned from service on October 17th while encamped on Missionary Ridge, overlooking Chattanooga, Tennessee. Wood had become discontented with Gen. Cleburne’s lack of mentioning him in the Chickamauga battle reports. In his letter of 1867, Lowrey commented about his appointment to Brigadier General and promotion to take command of Gen. Wood’s brigade:

“I was again complimented by Gen. Clebourne, and I and my command were favorably noticed in his official report, as you are aware. My promotion immediately followed this engagement, with the circumstances of which you are well acquainted. My appointment as brigadier-general was on the 4th of October 1863. I had then served as colonel 18 months besides my 60 days' service with State troops. I count from the time of my election; but under authority of the War Department I had raised and organized the regiment, acting in the capacity and with the rank of colonel…From the foregoing you will observe, also, that I had never commanded less than a brigade.” [Correction: Lowrey commanded the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi Regiment (Consolidated) at the Battle of

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Chickamauga, and was in command of the 32 nd Mississippi Regiment at the Battle of Murfreesboro prior to assuming command of Wood’s Brigade before it retreated from Murfreesboro.] [Former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

Between October 17, when Brig. Gen. S.A.M. Wood resigned, and before October 31, 1863, newly appointed Brig. Gen. Mark P. Lowrey was assigned to the command of his old brigade, Wood’s Brigade, with which he had served from the beginning, and which he had often commanded. In the Organization of the Confederate Forces for the Army of Tennessee dated October 31, 1863, Lowrey was listed as brigade commander of the former Wood’s Brigade, now Lowrey’s Brigade. Lt. Col. Richard Charlton was listed as commander of the 32 nd & 45 th (Consolidated) in this same report, and again as commander of same regiment in a similar report dated November 20, 1863. It is known that Col. Aaron B. Hardcastle was in command of the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) at the Battle of Missionary Ridge, November 25th and Ringgold Gap, November 27th. In November 1863 Hardcastle had returned from disability leave for his badly fractured right leg caused by a horse kick at the beginning of Bragg’s Kentucky Campaign in August 1862, and assumed command of the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) between November 21st and 24th, after the November 20th organization report and prior to November 25th, when the Battle of Missionary Ridge took place. On Col. Hardcastle’s Muster Roll Card for Sept/Oct 1863 there is the following notation:

“Absent; detached commanding sub conscript bureau at Aberdeen, Miss.”

Hardcastle’s Muster Roll Card for Nov/Dec 1863 states: “Present.”

Prior to Hardcastle’s return in November 1863 to resume his command of the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated), there was an election held, probably in early or mid- October, at which time Capt. John D. Williams was elected to become Colonel of the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated). Capt. Williams wrote a letter in January 1864 stating this promotion had been approved by the Board of Examiners of the Division sometime not long after October 19th, 1863 (the “nearly three months” date Williams provided in his letter). This indicates that Hardcastle may have returned to resume command of his regiment prior to November 17th and was in a confrontation with Williams over who would be the commander. This dispute could also account for Lt. Col. Charlton being listed as still in command of the consolidated regiment in the November 20th organization report. With Hardcastle’s seniority and experience, it would have been acceptable for Hardcastle to be allowed to resume his command of the regiment shortly before the Battle of Missionary Ridge until this dispute was settled. It is quite obvious from Capt. Williams’ letter that he was becoming impatient and was pressing this issue to try and get resolution in his favor. However, Williams would have to wait until after Hardcastle leaves the regiment in June 1864, before he would be allowed to assume command.

From the time of Lowrey’s promotion to brigade commander in October 1863 to April 9, 1865, the 32 nd Mississippi Regiment and the 45 th Mississippi Regiment (aka the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion) would remain members of Lowrey’s Brigade, Cleburne’s Division, in the Army of Tennessee, although Lowrey was not always in command of the brigade.

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After Gen. Rosecrans’ retreated from the Battle of Chickamauga to Chattanooga, Gen. Bragg’s Army of Tennessee moved to positions on surrounding heights, including Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. At the Battle of Tunnel Hill, that was part of the Battle of Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863 (aka the Battle of Chattanooga, November 23-25), Cleburne’s Division was in position in the vicinity of a railroad tunnel that passed underneath the northern end of Missionary Ridge. The 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) of Lowrey’s Brigade were supporting Gen. Cleburne’s extreme right flank, and were not heavily engaged. Gen. Lowrey wrote about his brigade’s activities to Confederate staff officer Col. Calhoun Benham:

“I know you remember all about the part I took in the Battle of Missionary Ridge, as you were on my line several times during the day and brought me the order at night to retreat. I selected the position I occupied on the right, without a guide and without knowing the country, occupied it and fortified it under the fire of the enemy, and held it, protecting the right flank of our army all day.” [Former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

Following the Confederacy’s defeat at Missionary Ridge, Gen. Cleburne’s division was placed in postion as rear guard for the Confederate army as it retreated back into Georgia. At Ringgold Gap, Georgia, Gen. Bragg placed Cleburne’s Division in reserve to protect Bragg’s wagon supply train and artillery from the Union pursurers. A messenger from Gen. Bragg gave Cleburne a written message shortly after midnight on November 27th:

"Tell General Cleburne to hold his position at all hazards, and to keep back the enemy until the transportation of the army is secured, the salvation of which depends upon him."

At the Battle of Ringgold Gap (aka Taylor’s Ridge), the Federal army was soundly repulsed and held at bay long enough by Cleburne’s Division to allow Gen. Bragg and his army to escape to Dalton, Georgia, where Winter Quarters for Bragg was established soon thereafter. For his actions, Gen. Cleburne received the thanks of the Confederate Congress. Gen. Lowrey and his brigade played a very vital role in the success of the day’s fight:

“At Ringgold, or Taylor's Ridge, my brigade was at first held in reserve in the gap; and Gen. (Lucius) Polk…sent the 1 st Arkansas Regiment upon the hill to watch the movements of the enemy. When Gen. Clebourne saw heavy columns of the enemy moving rapidly to his right, he gave me a verbal order, I think these words: ‘Go upon that hill and see they don't turn my right.’

“I moved by the right flank and, with much difficulty, climbed the rugged hill. I got my horse up the hill with much difficulty, but my field officers all left their horses and went up on foot. On reaching the top of the hill, I heard firing on the right about a quarter of a mile ahead of me. I left a staff officer to close up the command in haste, and hurry them on, and I went in full speed to see what the firing meant. On reaching the place, I found the 1 st Arkansas standing alone against a large force of the enemy, who had already reached the summit. They felt that they were overpowered, and were just about to give way, but I dashed up to them and encouraged them by assuring them that my brigade was

May 8, 2006 15 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag just at Hand. They gathered courage and held their ground. I dashed back in full speed, and on owing that the position would be entirely lost if I waited to bring my whole command at once, as the line had to be changed, I threw forward a regiment at a time, leading each regiment in person, and by a dash drove the enemy from the top of the hill. As I brought up my last regiment, I discovered that Brigadier Gen. Polk had hastily formed his brigade still further to the right, and was hotly engaged. A staff officer came from him in full speed asking me for help, saying that the enemy were charging in massed column on the position then held by the 1st Arkansas, which, having been so long engaged, were out of ammunition. I took the 45 th Alabama, which I was just then bringing into position, and went in double-quick (march), threw them in rear of the 1 st Arkansas, and moved them up in time to repulse the enemy.

“The victory was ours, and the enemy was gone down the hill in perfect confusion. And there is nothing more certain than that tardy movements would have resulted in not only loss of that position, but the defeat of the entire division, and the loss of the trains and artillery of the army. This was on the 27 th of November 1863.” [Former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

As the Army of Tennessee began establishing their Winter Quarters around Dalton, Georgia, in December 1863, Gen. Bragg placed Cleburne’s Division nine miles northwest of Dalton at Tunnel Hill, Georgia, because it was located about midway between Dalton and Ringgold Gap. Bragg wanted Cleburne’s Division to do continued reconnaissance on Union troop positions further north in order to prevent a surprise attack on his main body of the Army of Tennessee encamped around Dalton. The winter passed with relatively few incidences, and Cleburne had a log structure built that became a school for his division. Time was passed drilling and instructing the troops in preparation for the engagements between the two armies that were sure to come in the spring of 1864.

On January 19, 1864, Capt. John D. Williams, Company B, 45 th Mississippi, wrote a letter while in Winter Quarters at Tunnel Hill, Georgia to S. Cooper, Adj. & Inspec. Gen., requesting the status of his promotion by election as “Colonel of the 45th Mississippi Regiment” that he understood had “passed the Board of Examiners of the Division nearly three months since.” Lt. Col. Richard Charlton, “commanding regiment” (the 45 th Mississippi), added a note acknowledging receipt of the letter by Capt. John D. Williams at Headquarters, Dalton, Georgia on January 21, 1864, and remarked that there was “a contest for the colonelcy of Regiment with Col. Hardcastle.” Lt. Col. Charlton also stated that the papers with all the facts had been forwarded to the War Department on November 17, 1863. Charlton forwarded Williams’ request to George Brent, Adj., for Gen. Johnston.

In the Organization of the Forces report for the Army of Tennessee dated January 20, 1864, Col. William H.H. Tison is listed as in command of the 32 nd and 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated). On the following day, Lt. Col. Richard Charlton wrote his note that was part of Capt. John D. Williams letter that he was commanding the 45th Mississippi Infantry Regiment. On December 26, 1863, Gen. Hardee had issued General Order No. 229 that pertained to Court Martials, and trying to get action taken on them. It is belived Col. Hardcastle may have been assigned for a period of time to Court Martial duty after Hardee’s General Order, and this may account for the Organization of Forces report indentifying Col. Tison as being in command of the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated)

May 8, 2006 16 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag on January 20 and Lt. Col. Charlton’s note stating he was in command of the 45th Mississippi on Janusry 21, 1864.

From January 1863 to sometime after January 20 and before April 30, 1864 the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment remained a consolidated unit. On April 9, 1864, the 45 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment was ordered to return to its previous designation as the 3rd Mississippi Infantry Battalion, but this did not occur officially until July 14, 1864. By Spring 1864 the 32 nd and 45 th Mississippi Regiments were again fighting as separate units with Col. William H.H. Tison in command of the 32 nd Mississippi and Col. Hardcastle in command of the 45 th Mississippi Regiment, in Lowrey’s Brigade, Cleburne’s Division.

Col. Aaron B. Hardcastle announced his “retirement” as commander of the 45 th Mississippi on the evening of June 24, 1864. However, on the 28th, Hardcastle wrote in a letter of application directed to James A. Seddon, Secretary of War, in Richmond, Virginia:

“By the recent decision of the (War) Department I am thrown out of the position of Colonel, 45 th Miss. Inf. The organization not being sustained as a regiment, but reduced to its former status as the 3 rd Miss. Battalion. I organized the Battalion at Jackson (Miss.) in November 1861 and was appointed Major by the President, which office I have never resigned. I can claim the rank of Lt. Col. 3 rd Miss. Battalion as the department in the late decision declared the battalion of eight companies is entitled to a Lt. Colonel and Major. I am now disabled for field service on account of the stiffness and weakness of my right leg (that was badly fractured in the Kentucky Campaign with Bragg in August 1862)…Not being able to perform the duties and undergo the hardships of a Command of a battalion in the field, I relinquish my claim and ask for the appointment to Court Martial duty. I was appointed 2nd Lt. of 6th Infantry U.S. Army on the 7th June 1855. In May 1861 I tendered my resignation and in June I left California with the party who accompanied General Albert Sidney Johnston. My services were tendered to the Confederate Authorities in Richmond, upon my arrival there, in September 1861; and I was appointed to hold the same rank I held in the old Army, 1st Lt. C.S. Infantry…Very Respectfully Your Obt. Servt., A.B. Hardcastle, 1st Lt. C.S. Infantry and Maj. 3 rd Miss. Battalion.”

On September 1, 1864 Hardcastle added a postscript to his application for Court Martial duty:

“Since the foregoing application was made I have learned that any claim which I might have had to rank as Lt. Colonel or Major 3 rd Miss. Battalion no longer exists. I am appointed a Captain C.S. Infantry to rank from March 16th 1864 and hold no other office in the military service. Very Respectfully, A.B. Hardcastle, Capt. C.S. Infantry.”

Major Elisha F. Nunn, Company C, assumed command of the 45 th Mississippi following Col. Hardcastle’s forced removal in June according to the Organization of Confederate Forces report for the Army of Tennessee dated July 10, 1864.

The 45 th Mississippi Regiment Volunteer Infantry was reorganized as the 3 rd Mississippi Infantry Battalion on the late afternoon of July 14, 1864. By popular vote of the troops, the elected field officers where Lt. Colonel John D. Williams, Commander, and

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Elisha F. Nunn, Major; and a dress parade followed the elections. On July 15th, two other Mississippi regiments, the 5 th and 8 th , were added to Lowrey’s Brigade.

The Army of Tennessee defended the area around Atlanta, Georgia during the arduous and bloody summer campaign of 1864 under the command of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, until Gen. John Bell Hood replaced Johnston on July 17, 1864. On July 18th, Hood received a temporary promotion to full General, and immediately afterward made impetuous and foolhardy attempts to take the offensive against Sherman in mismanaged attacks at the Battle of Peach Tree Creek on July 20th, and during the Battle of Atlanta on July 22nd. Hood repeatedly hurled his outnumbered forces against Sherman's advancing columns, and in each case the Confederates were repulsed with heavy losses. Lt. Col. John D. Williams, commanding the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion, was captured at the breastworks during the Battle of Atlanta, ending his brief eight-day career as commander of the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion; something that he had coveted since sometime prior to November 1863. Lowrey related his opinion of this day in Atlanta to fellow Confederate officer, Col. Calhoun Benham, in 1867:

“You remember the engagement of the 22nd of July (in Atlanta) near Cobb's Mill. In that engagement, after my own brigade had been cut to pieces, having lost half its number, I discovered an opportunity to make an assault on the enemy's flank, and got permission to make the attack with Mercer's brigade (which that day, with Gen. W. H. T. Walker's Georgia division, had been consolidated with Cleburne's, Walker having been killed in battle), and some detachments that had just been brought up from the picket line, which we had left the night before. Gen. Maney, in command of Cheatham's division, who ranked me, had (also) discovered the opportunity, and was forming to make the movement, and I, not knowing it, marched up to his line. I could not move on without running over his line, which my respect for him and his rank would not allow. You were present, and I know you remember how by his tardy movements the opportunity was lost. But I would not like for anything in my personal history to reflect upon another officer.” [Former Brigadier- General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

After the Battle of Atlanta, casualties suffered by Cleburne’s Division during the forced some changes in that famous command‘s component units. One of those was the dismantling of Brig. Gen. Lucius Polk’s Brigade and its replacement by Brig. Gen. Hugh Mercer’s Brigade of Maj. Gen. W.H.T. Walker’s Division (also dismantled). Another was the consolidation of the 3 rd Mississippi Infantry Battalion with the 5 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, and placed under the command of Col. John Weir, who had previously been in command of the 5 th Mississippi. Also consolidated were the 32 nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment and the 8 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, commanded by Capt. Andrew E. Moody, previously with the 8 th Mississippi. Both of these consolidations occurred on July 24, 1864. The 3 rd Mississippi Battalion and the 32 nd Mississippi Regiment would fight as these new consolidated units at the August to December 1864 battles of Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville.

At the Battle of Jonesboro, August 31-September 1, 1864, and the Battle of Lovejoy Station, September 2nd, Colonel John Weir commanded Lowrey’s Brigade, Brigadier General Mark Lowrey commanded Cleburne’s Division, Major General commanded Hardee’s Corps; and the outnumbered Confederates were repulsed once again.

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This demoralized and depleted Hood's forces to the point where they lost their ability to successfully defend Atlanta. With the city's only remaining supply line severed by the Federals at Jonesboro, Georgia, Hood was forced to evacuate Atlanta on the night of September 1, 1864, and retreat towards Lovejoy Station, Georgia. At 3:00 a.m. on September 1st, as a result of orders from Gen. Hood to Gen. S. D. Lee, Lee’s Corps began to withdraw back to Atlanta, and Gen. Hardee ordered Gen. Lowrey to move Cleburne’s Division to the right flank to replace Lee’s Corps. This new position was about three- quarters of a mile north of Jonesboro. In his 1867 letter, Lowrey described the activities from August 30th to September 2nd:

“On the night of the 30th of August, Gen. Clebourne took command of the forces (at Jonesboro). On the 31st I made an attack with the division on the enemy's right flank and drove the dismounted cavalry from their works, and we continued to pursue them for at least a mile.

“This was the only success achieved by our forces that day. I was then ordered back in the direction of Atlanta (to the new position north of Jonesboro). It was in the night when I reached the place, and I found works commenced on a part of the line; but I had to form in one rank and continue the line further to the right. The next day, the first of September, having been deprived of Lee's corps, we fought the enemy five to six to one and held him in check all day.

“I, with Clebourne's division, occupied the extreme right. On the evening of that day the enemy moved in overwhelming force to turn our right flank. The movement was discovered by Gen. Hardee, and he came to me in person, manifesting more excitement than I ever saw him at any other time, and told me that he had ordered additional forces to report to me, and for me to select a line and put them in positions at once.

“I saw the necessity of retiring the right of the line, and driving them back they would come upon the abatis and form for a desperate attack on our main line. Finding this but a skirmish line, they would have to form again, and be thus detained until night, thus favoring us with an opportunity to retire. The plan worked well, and the result was that they did not find our right flank at all. This plan saved us that day.

“We retired that night (September 1st) to Lovejoy Station, and I continued in command of the division for about a week. The evening of the second (of September), at Lovejoy, the enemy assaulted the position of the line occupied by my old brigade and were handsomely repulsed with considerable loss.” [Former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

The Army of Tennessee under Gen. Hood’s command invaded Middle Tennessee, in the Fall of 1864, following Schofield and Stanley with the 4 th and 23 rd Corps after they were detached by Sherman at Gaylesville, Alabama to join Gen. Thomas in the defense of Nashville. In his 1867 letter, Gen. Lowrey provided a detailed account of the events in their engagement with the Federals at the Battle of Spring Hill, November 29, 1864:

“When the enemy began the retreat from the vicinity of Columbia, Tenn., a large portion of our army crossed Duck River at Davis' Ford, five miles above Columbia. My

May 8, 2006 19 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag brigade crossed first early on the morning of the 29 th of November, and moved in advance all day.

“We moved to intercept the enemy at Spring Hill, Tenn., but were compelled to move cautiously, for we were expecting continually to meet the enemy. The enemy made one bold demonstration on our moving columns in the evening, I suppose for the purpose of detaining us. Lt. Gen. (John Bell) Hood was with me in person a good part of the day, and directed me to attack the enemy wherever I found him, without regard to his numbers or position.

“Late in the evening (of the 29th), General (Nathan Bedford) Forrest attacked the enemy at Spring Hill, and I moved rapidly to his assistance. The enemy had moved out one mile from the village, and had made strong breastworks of fence rails, and occupied a strong position, from which the cavalry had failed to move him. The moment I arrived on the ground I formed a line and moved against the enemy, drove him from his works, and pursued him about a mile through an open field.

“As soon as Granbury could come up and form, he followed to my left, and Govan was brought up and held in reserve. Granbury did not get into the engagement, as the whole of the enemy's line to my left gave way as my line advanced, but the (enemy’s) line to my right stood firm, and as I advanced, I left them in my rear.

“Here, I will introduce an interesting incident in Gen. Clebourne's conduct. As I passed the enemy on my right, the officers by great efforts kept their men in position, and from the cheering and waving of swords and hats which I observed, I thought they were going to charge me on my right flank. I saw Clebourne on the field, dashed up to him and told him that the enemy was about to charge me on my right flank. With his right hand raised, as though he held a heavy whip to be brought down upon his horse, and in a tone that manifested unusual excitement, he exclaimed, ‘I'll charge them.’ And dashing back to Govan's brigade he brought them up and did make a successful charge, driving the enemy in confusion from his position.” [Former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

After Spring Hill, the Army of Tennessee under Gen. Hood’s command marched on northward toward its destiny of death and destruction. It suffered devastating losses at the Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864, and was destroyed at the , December 15-16, 1864 - never to fight again in its entirety as the Army of Tennessee. After the war, Lowrey wrote about his close encounter involving himself and Cheatham’s Division almost being captured during the second day of the Battle of Nashville:

“The first day of the fight (December 15th) I commanded my brigade, which was near the extreme right, where we handsomely repulsed several severe assaults of the enemy.

“On the next day, I was put in command of Cheatham's division, which was then on the extreme left. Gen. Cheatham was commanding the corps, and Gen. John C. Brown had commanded this division until he was wounded at Franklin. The division was in line of

May 8, 2006 20 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag battle when I was ordered to take command of it. I was compelled to take one brigade from the works to extend my line to the left.

“Soon, Govan's brigade was driven from a hill immediately in our rear. I was then compelled to send my strongest brigade to that point, which left me to hold the works with a single rank, thinly scattered along the works. The brigade I sent to the hill in the rear soon regained the hill; but about the same time Bate's division on my right gave way, and the enemy poured through by thousands in my rear, my line being nearly at a right angle with the main line. My line was soon thrown back, the enemy surrounding me in the shape of a horseshoe, I (was) only left (with) the heel to go out at.

“At first, I saw no chance for myself or any considerable portion of my division to escape capture. But at the only point where escape might be rendered possible, and by my own efforts, assisted by Lt. A. J. Hall, my aide-de-camp, a few men were rallied, who held the enemy in check until most of my men passed out and joined our broken and discomforted masses in their inglorious retreat. It was at this point that old ‘Rebel,’ my favorite war steed was killed. I had ridden him in all the engagements I had ever been in except two, and he had been four times wounded.” [Former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

On January 23, 1865, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, Commander of Military Division of the West, issued orders relieving Gen. John Bell Hood by his own request to the War Department from the command of the Army of Tennessee, and Hood was to report to the War Department at Richmond, Virginia for orders. Lt. Gen. , commanding the Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana, assumed command of the Army of Tennessee until further orders. The Army of Tennessee was spilt into two major commands: Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s that surrendered in late April to Gen. William T. Sherman in North Carolina; and General Richard Taylor’s, that would surrender in early May to Union General Edward Canby in Alabama.

Gen. Lowrey continued in command of Cheatham's Division until March 1865. At Chesterfield, South Carolina, he obtained a leave of absence and went to Richmond to tender his resignation, which was accepted on March 14th. The reasons Lowrey provided for resigning were as follows:

1. “I saw that the cause was lost. 2. “I had been separated from the men and officers with whom I had borne the "burden and heat of the day," and to whom I was endeared by a thousand sacred ties, and although I was ailing to stand with our broken forces until the end of the struggle, I was unwilling to mourne [sic] with strangers at the funeral of ‘The Lost Cause’. 3. “Our armies were by an act of Congress, to be reorganized, and there was a surplus of officers of all grades, and I preferred to leave the offices to those who were more ambitious for military honor and position than myself. My highest ambition as a soldier was to do my whole duty, and advance the interest of that cause which was as dear to my heart as life.” [Former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

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Gen. James A. Smith remained in command of Cleburne’s Division through the Carolinas Campaign in early 1865 that included the Battle of Bentonville in North Carolina on March 19-21, 1865. At Bentonville, Lt. Col. John F. Smith was in command of Lowrey’s Brigade, which included the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion, 8 th and 32 nd Mississippi Regiments, and the 16 th Alabama Regiment. This was the last full-scale battle of the Civil War in which the Army of Tennessee was able to mount a tactical offensive. On April 9, 1865 at Smithfield, North Carolina, the Mississippi 3 rd Battalion and the 8 th , 32 nd and a remnant of the 5 th Regiments were consolidated into one ragged unit called the Eighth Mississippi Infantry Battalion (Consolidated), commanded by Captain J.Y. Carmack of the 32 nd Mississippi, and assigned to Gen. Jacob H. Sharp’s Brigade, D.H. Hill’s Division, S.D. Lee’s Corps. On April 26, 1865, General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered most of the Army of Tennessee, including the recently consolidated 8 th Mississippi Infantry Battalion under that designation, at Bennett’s farm near Durham’s Station, North Carolina. Most members surrendered on this date were paroled by early May 1865. On May 4, 1865, more members of the former Mississippi 3 rd Battalion/45 th Regiment were apparently surrendered at Citronelle, Alabama with Richard Taylor’s Army of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana, as several were listed on the Roll of POWs. President Andrew Johnson announced an Amnesty Proclamation on May 29th, and by the end of June 1865 most Confederates had been granted amnesty and pardoned.

Hardee Pattern battle flags; and the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi flag - This recently discovered regimental flag with four major battlefield repairs authenticated to the Civil War era is undoubtedly the most significant and best-documented historical battle flag, Confederate or Union, of national importance to be discovered in the 21st century. In the Spring of 2002 it was found “stuffed” in the small side drawer of a 19th century antique wooden treadle sewing machine, and has been “missing” for over 140 years. It is truly a “lost National treasure.” Today it deserves all the recognition and honor that can be bestowed upon it for the benefit of today’s Civil War researchers, historians, and collectors. In addition, the families whose ancestors bravely fought and sacrificed “life and limb,” would enjoy knowing of the flag’s existence. It was carried into numerous battles in front of hundreds of men who fought for a cause they so deeply cherished and believed in that they were willing to die defending it. This flag is of greater historical importance than many Civil War flags currently in public and private collections, as it represents one of the most experienced and battle-torn Confederate units in the Civil War ‘s Western Theater.

Beginning in February 1864, Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne’s Division, while stationed in Winter Quarters near Dalton, Georgia, received a new issue of Hardee pattern battle flags. Flag historian Howard Madaus has labeled this issue the Hardee/Cleburne 1864 Pattern (Type 1), and it varied slightly from earlier issues. First, they were not the deep blue indigo color of the four earlier versions. Rather they were a blue-green color. Secondly, the center “moon” was rectilinear (basically a square with rounded corners) whereas the previous “moons’ were circles or vertical/horizontal ellipses. Twenty-two of these flags were issued to Cleburne’s Division (19 infantry units, including the soon to be defunct 15 th Mississippi Battalion Sharpshooters, and the three attached artillery batteries of Maj. Thomas R. Hotchkiss’ Artillery Battalion). Only thirteen of these flags remain today, of which eleven are in state museum collections. The Hardee/Cleburne 1864 (Type 2) pattern flags for Cleburne’s Division were issued after the Atlanta Campaign and the

May 8, 2006 22 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

“rectilinear moon” reverted to the circle shape that adorned the Hardee pattern flags at their genesis in the Winter of 1861-1862.

The 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) flag, carried by the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion after these two regiments were separated because of the “SHILOH” battle honor, is one of four known surviving examples of the Hardee/Cleburne regimental battle flag issued February 1864 to Brig. Gen. Mark P. Lowrey’s Brigade in Cleburne’s Division, and one of three actually known to have been carried into battle. The other three surviving Hardee/Cleburne 1864 (Type 1) pattern flags of Lowrey’s Brigade are those issued to: (1) the 33 rd Alabama Infantry Regiment that was carried into numerous battles during 1864, like the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) flag, and is known to have been captured by the 12 th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry at the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864; (2) the 45 th Alabama Infantry Regiment, captured by Private Lewis [aka Louis] Crowder, Company C, 15 th Iowa Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864; and (3) the 15 th Mississippi Sharpshooters Battalion (Hawkins’) that was never carried into a battle.

The 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) flag, carried by color bearer First Corporal Joseph T. McBride of the 3 rd Battalion Mississippi Infantry, and the 33 rd Alabama flag, carried by color bearer Sergeant Neil Godwin, Company B, were both leading Lowrey’s Brigade of Cleburne’s Division, Cheatham's Corps, during the second major assault on the enemy’s second line of defense at the Battle of Franklin. During this charge, both color bearers, Joseph McBride and Neil Godwin, were killed while attempting to breach the Federal works near Fountain B. Carter’s Cotton Gin.

The only primary differences between the 33 rd Alabama flag and the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) flag are: (1) the condition (about 30% of the 33 rd Alabama's flag is missing versus the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi’s flag is over 98% complete); (2) the lack of an “inverted crossed-cannons” battle honor on the 33 rd ’s flag because they had not been credited with the capture of a Federal battery; and (3) one additional battle honor on the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi Regiment's flag – “SHILOH.” This battle honor was authorized due to the involvement of Hardcastle’s 33 rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Perryville. Otherwise, the lettering, style and pattern of these two flags are nearly identical.

Enlarged Photos Comparing Double “GG” of Ringgold-Gap

32nd & 45th Mississippi Infantry Regiment (Consolidated) 33rd Alabama Infantry Regiment

The “Roman style” block letters of the battle honors of the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) flag and the 33 rd Alabama flag were first outlined with the use of a stencil, and then hand painted. The conclusive proof in support of this is the style of the double G’s of “RINGGOLD-GAP” – both have the identical indentations in the bottom of these double G’s, the left one being deeper than the right one on both of these regimental flags. It was probably not uncommon for the brigade to have a painter for all of the flags in

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Lowrey’s Brigade; however, the artist who did these flags for Lowrey’s Brigade has yet to be identified.

Enlarged Photos Comparing Two Spellings of Murfreesboro and Different Letter Styles

32nd & 45th Mississippi Infantry Regiment (Consolidated) 15th Mississippi Battalion Sharpshooters (Hawkins)

There is very little doubt that the battle honors on the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) and the 33 rd Alabama battle flags were painted by the same artist. This is probably true also for the 45 th Alabama battle honors, as well as the designation portion of the 15 th Mississippi Battalion Sharpshooters. The battle honors are in the same block style white lettering – “SHILOH, PERRYVILLE, MURFREESBORO, CHICKAMAUGA, RINGGOLD-GAP” on the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi’s flag; “PERRYVILLE, MURFREESBORO, CHICKAMAUGA, RINGGOLD-GAP” on both the 33 rd and 45 th Alabama flags, although there is no hyphen between RINGGOLD and GAP on the 45 th Alabama flag and the style of the “GG” in RINGGOLD is slightly different; and “HAWKINS’ SHARPSHOOTER s” on the 15 th Mississippi Battalion Sharpshooters’ flag. Though part of the same brigade, the 15 th Mississippi Sharpshooters’ four battle honors – “PERRYVILLE, MURFEESBORO [sic], CHICKAMAUGA, RINGGOLD-GAP” - are of a very different style of block lettering, as well as spelling, which indicates a different artist for the four honors lettering. Indeed, 1st Arkansas soldier Augustus Larrantree who had been a sign painter in Little Rock before the war, did the Hardee/Cleburne 1864 (Type 1) pattern flags of Brig. Gen. Daniel C. Govan’s Arkansas Brigade of Cleburne’s Division.

33rd Alabama Infantry Regiment (Photo courtesy of the Alabama State Archives & Museum, Montgomery, Alabama)

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45th Alabama Infantry Regiment (Photo courtesy of the State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa)

15th Mississippi Battalion Sharpshooters (Photo authorized by Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, Tennessee)

The construction of the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) flag is a combination of off-white cotton fabric and blue/green cotton and wool blend fabric in the pattern of a Hardee/Cleburne Confederate Regimental flag. The leading edge has an off-white cotton pole sleeve. This Hardee pattern flag measures 36” on the leading edge and 42 3/4” on the fly, and was hand sewn throughout. A 9 1/2” by 11 3/4” off-white cotton disc, referred to as a “rectilinear moon,” was appliquéd to each side of the fly. This rectilinear moon originally had a design that was hand applied in black very similar to the drawing below on the obverse side and has been well documented by the use of special photographic techniques. The fly has three rows of lettering, all applied with a white pigment to the obverse in Roman style. This flag is intact overall except for minor fabric loss at the top of the pole sleeve and top and bottom of the fly end. There is also some very light staining May 8, 2006 25 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag and soiling. Four field repairs to this flag date to the Civil War and were authenticated by Textile Preservation Associates, Inc. in Keedysville, Maryland

While not apparent without detailed examination, the flag of the consolidated 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi features the unit designation and the “inverted crossed-cannon” battle honor in the rectilinear “moon.” Following the promotion of General Cleburne, members of Wood’s Brigade were authorized to include an inverted pair of crossed-cannon (barrels pointed up) on their regimental battle flag due to the capture of a Federal battery at Perryville on October 8, 1862. General Orders No. 23 was issued December 21, 1862:

"The regiments of the brigade of Brigadier-General Wood, which, on the memorable field of Perryville, participated in the gallant and desperate charge resulting in the capture of the enemy's batteries, will, in addition to the name of the field (of battle) on their colors, place the cross-cannon inverted."

Rectilinear Moon of 32nd & 45th Mississippi Infantry Regiment (Consolidated) (Copyrighted: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)

The above drawing of the rectilinear moon in the center of the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) battle flag was based on photographic analysis that was provided by Pennsylvania State University using backlighting and computer enhancement techniques. Since this drawing was completed, more photographic documentation provided by a commercial photographer using alternate means of backlighting and filtration has provided additional evidence about the original placement of the numbers, which differs very slightly from this drawing. It appears that the numbers were slightly arched – the “2” of “32” higher than the “3” and more to the right, and the “4” of “45” higher than the “5” and both numbers more to the left. Other information – style of the May 8, 2006 26 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag numbers, the capital “E” shaped ampersand with a tail, the “inverted” crossed-cannon and “Miss” are correct. There is some possibility that the “TH” of “45TH” was higher and to the right of the “45,” or possibly not there at all. Discolorations in this area of the rectilinear moon have made this determination more difficult, but there are strong indications that the ‘TH” was originally applied to the disc at the end of or just below and right of the “45.” Further analysis may be required to make a final determination. An updated drawing of the rectilinear moon in the flag’s center, based on new photographic evidence, will be completed in the near future.

The 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) flag is the only known regimental battle flag in existence of any that were ever issued to the Mississippi 3 rd Infantry Battalion, or the Mississippi 32 nd , 33 rd (Hardcastle’s) or 45 th Infantry Regiments. As the 15 th Mississippi Battalion Sharpshooters had been broken up in March 1864, this helps date when the 1864 Hardee/Cleburne (Type 1) pattern flags of Lowrey’s Brigade and Cleburne’s Division were issued.

The 33 rd Alabama 1864 Hardee/Cleburne (Type 1) flag is located at the Alabama Department of Archives & History in Montgomery, the 45 th Alabama flag is located at the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines and the 15 th Mississippi Battalion Sharpshooters flag is in the collections of the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville.

The Hardee/Cleburne battle flag is one of the rarest and most desirable patterns coveted by knowledgeable historians, museums and collectors of items pertaining to General Patrick R. Cleburne and his division, General Mark P. Lowrey and his brigade, and the Army of Tennessee. The blue and white flags were the very symbol of this division’s combat prowess and, as one veteran of Hiram Granbury’s Texas Brigade of Cleburne’s Division wrote, “…the Yanks was all afraid of the blue flag division!”

The “colorful” flag bearer of the Third Battalion Mississippi Infantry - Only one color bearer, First Corporal Joseph Thomas McBride, carried this flag into numerous Army of Tennessee battles during 1864. McBride was a member of the “Duncan Riflemen,” Company A, and color bearer for the 3 rd Mississippi Infantry Battalion and 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment (Field Consolidated).

“Duncan Riflemen” Flag, Company A, Third Mississippi Battalion

Flag made by Lee Mallary; believed to be an apprentice painter with Charles H. Manship, Jackson, Mississippi (Photo courtesy Mississippi State Museum & Archives, Jackson, Mississippi) May 8, 2006 27 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

First Corporal McBride enlisted as a Private on October 10, 1861 at Westville, Simpson County, Mississippi in the “Duncan Riflemen,” organized and financed by John Duncan of Jackson, Mississippi and commanded by Captain Mark L. Carlisle. First Lieutenant Aaron B. Hardcastle mustered Private McBride into 12-month service in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States on October 25, 1861 at Camp Anderson near Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi.

McBride was a veteran of many important battles, engagements and skirmishes of the Western Theater commencing April 6 and 7, 1862 with the Battle of Shiloh, where Hardcastle’s men captured a Federal artillery battery. He was with General Bragg and the Army of the Mississippi during the Kentucky Campaign where the 33 rd Mississippi participated in the (aka Siege of Fort Craig and Battle of the Green River Bridge) in mid-September 1862. This was soon followed by the Battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862 where the 33 rd Mississippi and the 32 nd Mississippi Infantry Regiments, in conjunction with other members of Wood’s Brigade and Maney’s Brigade, captured a Federal artillery battery under the command of Lieutenant Charles C. Parsons. Before the battle started, an enemy shell injured Gen. S. A. M. Wood and Col. Mark Lowrey assumed command of the brigade - this being the very first battle of his military career. On December 27, 1862, McBride was captured at Triune, Tennessee after an intense hand-to- hand fight with Major Adolph G. Rosengarten, commander of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry, aka Anderson Troop. McBride was sent to Camp Douglas Prison in Chicago, Illinois, exchanged three months later and retuned to his regiment in April 1863.

McBride is credited as being the unit’s fearless regimental color bearer during 1863 for all battles and engagements of the consolidated 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi, including the Tullahoma Campaign, Chickamauga, Chattanooga Siege, Missionary Ridge (Tunnel Hill) and Ringgold Gap (Taylor’s Ridge). McBride’s flag has some of these names applied as battle honors. A close acquaintance of First Corporal Joe McBride was Second Sergeant Lemuel Green Williams [ aka “L.G.,” “G.W.” and “Green W.” Williams] , who enlisted with McBride on October 10, 1861 in Capt. Mark Carlisle’s “Duncan Riflemen” at Westville, Mississippi. Sergeant Williams wrote an interesting and very informative post-war letter that was published in the August 1894 Confederate Veteran describing McBride’s character, and recounts some of his defiant and amusing activities during the war:

“During Christmas week of 1862 the Forty fifth Mississippi Regiment Infantry, of Wood's Brigade, Cleburne's Division, was on picket duty near Triune, Tenn. (Union General) Rosecrans and (Confederate General) Bragg were advancing their armies and maneuvering so as to make Murfreesboro or its vicinity the scene of battle, where was fought one of the bloodiest and most stubborn engagements of the great war. It was fought December 31, 1862, and January 1 and 2, 1863, and the Confederates were defeated.

“At the time mentioned, our company was deployed as skirmishers to meet an advance of cavalry of Gen. McCook's Corps. We engaged with a body of horsemen from a Michigan regiment, I think it was the Fifth. [It was actually the 15 th Pennsylvania Cavalry.] When the crack of carbines and rifles got to be pretty lively, our colonel (Lt. Col. Richard Carlton) gave the command: "Skirmishers retreat!" The entire company heard and obeyed except Capt. (Thomas P.) Connor (commanding Company A) and Corporal McBride, who were too far away to hear and too busy at the time to heed.

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“To the rear of our skirmish line, some seventy five or eighty yards, was a ten rail worm fence which would have to be climbed in the retreat. McBride had his eye on some ten or twelve cavalrymen, led by an officer (Major Adolph G. Rosengarten), who were advancing at a gallop, and at the same time realized that his company had fallen back. He determined to make their leader, who was some distance ahead of his men, a target, fire, and then join his command, which by this time had almost passed out of view. Waiting till the officer got within twenty or thirty feet, he took deliberate aim and pulled trigger, when his gun snapped. The major, for that was his rank, dashed forward, almost standing in his stirrups, his saber raised to cleave his enemy's crest, confident of victory, when McBride clubbed his gun and before the major could strike he was knocked from his horse and badly stunned. This was the corporal's chance to retreat, as the men had not reached him, having stopped to capture Capt. Connor and talk to him, so McBride made for the rear in ‘double quick time.’ Arriving at the fence, he attempted to get over, but being rather clumsy, and the day damp and drizzly, on grasping the top rail to aid him in getting over, it would slip or be drawn toward him, causing him to let go and fall flat on his back. Three times he made efforts to go over the fence, but each time it was a slip and a fall. Rising for the fourth time, the major, having recovered from the blow and still on foot, was upon him savagely cutting and thrusting at him with his saber, making his mark in good shape across the front of McBride's body (that left a bloody gash across McBride’s forehead, and afterward a scar that he bore with great pride). This infuriated the corporal, who sprang at the major like a bulldog, caught him around the body, threw him down, straddled him, and nearly pounded the life out of him with his fists. At this moment the major's troopers, a sergeant and eight or ten men, came up, excitedly and angrily shouting: ‘Shoot the rebel! shoot him! kill him! No, don't shoot, boys, you'll kill the major! take him off! jerk him off!’ interspersed with other expressions more profane than polite. At last they got him off the major, who was beaten into insensibility almost and was powerless. But McBride had his ‘dander up,’ and struck and kicked at the sergeant and his men ferociously, who threatened to kill him if he didn't give in at once. His own captain finally commanding him, ‘Surrender, Joe, surrender, you fool!’ caused him to submit, but even then reluctantly. The cavalrymen were very much incensed at such pugnacity and nearly frenzied at the condition of their commander, whom they seemed to love very devotedly. They put irons on the corporal as a mark of disgrace as well as a means of safety, and marched him with other prisoners to Gen. McCook's headquarters. On the way to the general our prisoner was still belligerent and unconquered, fighting the yankees with his tongue, saying: ‘Ef yer'll turn me loose, I kin lick every one uv yer, one at er time!’ When they reached headquarters, the sergeant saluted Gen. McCook, and said: ‘General, I bring you some prisoners.’

“’After returning the salute, the general asked: ‘What's the matter with that man's hands?’ “’I had to put irons on him, general.’ “’What for?’ “’Because he wouldn't surrender.’ “’Take them off instantly, sir. It's the duty of a soldier not to surrender.’

“After questioning Capt. Connor as to Bragg's strength, etc., and receiving from the captain the somewhat flattering as well as politic answer: ‘Why, Gen. McCook, you are too good a soldier to expect me to answer your question, even if I know,’ the general

May 8, 2006 29 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag dismissed the sergeant with his prisoners. Shortly after this incident commenced the tramp, tramp, tramp of the captured ‘rebs’ and their escort or guard toward Murfreesboro,

“Ah, how many brave lives went out with the midnight knell of the old year on that memorable December 31, 1862, in that battle of Murfreesboro or Stone's River.

“The temptation for reminiscence and retrospection is great, but I won't indulge. I rejoice, however, that

”The lines which the wheels of artillery had traced “In the blood softened loam long since are effaced, “And the footprints the enemies left on the mold “Are lost 'neath the harvest fields surfeit of gold. “May the bloom of the wild flowers by the clear river's side “In sweetness and beauty mark the spot where each died.

“But to our hero. By the time they arrived in the neighborhood of the battlefield the number of prisoners had increased until there were two hundred or three hundred, they having been picked up here and there. Here McBride was pointed out to the Federals and others who came to see the prisoners as the vicious rebel who killed Maj. Bosegarten [sic- Rosengarten], it having been reported that the gallant major had died. I have often wondered if he did die, or was it rumor? [Major Rosengarten died on the evening of December 29, 1862 from wounds received during another skirmish earlier that day while enroute to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and not because of the painful wounds and fist beating inflicted by McBride.] The morning of the battle the prisoners and their guard (which had been increased in numbers) were grouped around fires trying to keep warm. Among them was a tough looking, stoutly built Irishman, who was full of fun, guying everything and everybody, scoring the Southern Confederacy and Confederate soldiers, and in a spirit of banter said he could ‘lick the divil out av any bloody Confetherate from Jeff Davis down to the lowest private, be dad!’ Finally McBride, seeing that the remarks were to him, said he couldn't lick him. So the guard and guarded, being in for fun, gathered around the champions, exclaiming: ‘Make a ring, boys! make a ring, and let 'em have it out!’ A ring was formed, and at it they went, the corporal terribly in earnest, the Irishman indifferent and smiling. McBride was soon ‘knocked out.’

“In the midst of the battle that raged that morning, McBride would shout to his friends, the enemy, as they ran and dodged, ‘What yer runnin' fer? why don't yer stand and fight like men?’ and tried his best to rally Rosey's (General Rosecrans) men, until his fellow prisoner, Capt. Connor, interposed, saying, ‘For God's sake, Joe, don't try to rally the yankees! keep 'em on the run. Do anything to continue the demoralization, and let's make our escape.’

“With all the disorder, however, the guard kept their prisoners well in hand, escorting them to a place of safety. Corporal McBride was sent to Camp Douglas. The following spring he was exchanged, and you may be sure his return was greeted with hearty welcome by his comrades of the Forty fifth. He returned in time to take part in the campaign beginning at Tullahoma, Tenn., passing unharmed through the battles of

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Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Ringgold Gap. In all these engagements Corporal McBride added fresh laurels to his fame for courage and devotion to duty as color bearer.”

At the end of his letter, Sergeant Lemuel G. Williams eulogized Corporal Joe McBride’s last moments of his life very eloquently:

“At last, however, after bearing our colors fearlessly through Resaca, at New Hope Church, on the Kennesaw line, Marietta, Atlanta, and Jonesboro, he bravely planted them on the fateful breastworks at Franklin, Tenn., on that awful (30th of) November evening in 1864, and there gave up his life.

“Is war wrong? God knows. “Only one Judge is just, for only one “Knoweth the hearts of men, and hearts alone “Are guilty or guiltless.”

Corporal Joe McBride carried the regiment’s banner at the 1864 battles of Dug Gap (not engaged), Resaca, Cassville (not engaged), New Hope Church (not engaged), Pickett’s Mill, Kennesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Lovejoy’s Station, Spring Hill, and lastly the most important one – the Battle of Franklin. McBride remained unscathed through all of his battles and engagements of 1863 and 1864, an unbelievable accomplishment for any color bearer, until the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee.

First Corporal McBride died approximately fifty yards in front of where Maj. Gen. Cleburne, the "Stonewall of the West," was fatally shot multiple times while afoot after two horses were shot out from under him. Cleburne was leading his battle-seasoned division into one of the most horrible and deadly fights of the entire Civil War for the Confederacy. Following Cleburne’s death at the Battle of Franklin, Brigadier-General Mark P. Lowrey assumed command of the division, being the senior commander to Govan and Granbury. Gen. Granbury had been killed in the first Confederate charge before Gen. Lowrey rightfully assumed command when he rode within thirty feet of the enemy’s breastworks.

Defending the vicinity of where the 3 rd Mississippi Infantry Battalion attacked the Union breastworks between Fountain B. Carter’s Cotton Gin and the “gap” in the Franklin- Columbia Pike was the 104 th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. That day, often referred to as “the bloodiest engagement of the War between the States,” the 104 th Ohio was credited with the capture of eleven Confederate battle flags, of which nine were sent to the War Department and two were apparently sent home as souvenirs before the order was received to turn them in. Emerson Opdycke’s Brigade of Wagner’s Division had countercharged the west side of the open gap on the Columbia Pike that was created when the men of the 1 st Kentucky Battery retreated and abandoned their artillery pieces. Opdycke’s Brigade, which included members from five Illinois regiments, was credited with the capture of ten Confederate flags. Three of the flags captured by Opdycke’s Brigade were identified, and five of them were turned in and accounted for following the battle. It is believed the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion’s flag may be either one of the two sent home as a souvenir that was captured by the 104 th Ohio; or one of six flags captured by Opdycke’s Brigade that were not identified, five of which were not accounted for after the Battle of Franklin. The 104 th Ohio’s capture

May 8, 2006 31 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag of eleven Confederate colors is largest number of regimental battle flags captured during one battle by a single regiment ever reported during the entire Civil War.

Joseph Thomas “Joel/Joe” McBride was the son of Dougald McBride Jr., a Scottish immigrant, and Nancy Easterling of Marlboro County, South Carolina, being one of thirteen children. He was born May 20, 1833 at Florence in Rankin County, Mississippi, and married Nancy Byrd on June 3, 1857 in Rankin County. He was a devout Methodist, and owned a small farm near Harrisville and Westville in Simpson County, Mississippi on which he supported himself and his family. He was residing with his wife and a daughter, Sarah C., when he went off to war in October 1861. A second daughter, Ella Josephine, was born in Oct. 1863. McBride was captured Dec. 27, 1862 at Triune, Williamson County, Tennessee and sent to Camp Douglas Prison in Chicago, Illinois. At the time he was reported as ”killed in action” on his Muster Roll card. He was among one hundred and four CSA prisoners delivered and exchanged April 4, 1863 at City Point, Virginia, and received a hero’s welcome upon his return to the 45 th Mississippi. He died bravely and gallantly in front of the enemy on the evening of November 30, 1864 at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, and was eventually buried in the Mississippi section of McGavock Confederate Cemetery at Plantation near Franklin, Tennessee.

First Corporal Joseph Thomas “Joel/Joe” McBride, Color Bearer, CSA

“J. T. M.,” Section 42, Grave Marker No. 310, McGavock Confederate Cemetery, Carnton Plantation, Franklin, Tennessee

First Corporal Joseph T. McBride, color bearer for the Third Battalion Mississippi Infantry, was buried in Section 42, Grave Marker No. 310, at McGavock Confederate May 8, 2006 32 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

Cemetery, Franklin, Tennessee, and his heroic deeds were then lost in our history for over 140 years. Hopefully, his deeds and actions will now be duly recognized, and may he rest in peace. Joseph McBride’s widow, Nancy, was remarried to Edward Mitchell after the war on September 2, 1867 in Rankin County, Mississippi, with whom she had a son, John Mitchell, in 1869. It is believed Nancy (Byrd) McBride-Mitchell died sometime prior to June 1880.

Close family members of Nancy (Byrd) McBride enlisted with her husband, Joseph, on October 10, 1861 at Westville, Simpson County, Mississippi in the “Duncan Riflemen” that became Company A of the Third Mississippi Infantry Battalion, and included: brothers Richard, Bryant and N. Green Byrd; first cousins Darling Barlow and John W. Barlow, Sr.; and cousin Daniel O. C. Byrd. The Barlow brothers were both captured at the Battle of Franklin, along with some close neighbors of Joseph and Nancy McBride back in Simpson County, Mississippi, and very likely these brave and gallant men fighting to protect their families and friends were at Corporal Joseph McBride’s side when he planted their regiment’s flag atop the earthen works at Franklin before he was killed in the action. These men probably fought together throughout the entire Civil War as a “band of brothers.”

Virtual CSA Purple Heart Award - Issued to: First Corporal Joseph Thomas “Joel/Joe” McBride , color bearer, member of the “Duncan Riflemen” that became Company A in Colonel Aaron Bascom Hardcastle’s Third Battalion Mississippi Infantry, also known as the 33 rd Regiment (Hardcastle’s) Mississippi Volunteers; the 45 th Regiment Mississippi Volunteer Infantry and the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment (Field Consolidated); Corporal McBride was killed in action on the evening of November 30, 1864 after leading the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion of Lowrey’s Brigade, Cleburne’s Division, Hardee’s Corps, Army of Tennessee during the second major Confederate assault on the enemy’s fortifications that included the members of Lowrey’s Brigade, and bravely planted his Hardee pattern 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated) regimental banner on top of the Union breastworks west of Fountain B. Carter’s Cotton Gin at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee in the service of the Confederate States of America.

"The Virtual CSA Purple Heart Award"

To receive this memorial or other Civil War memorials visit: The Virtual Civil War Memorial Website Hosted by The Missouri Civil War Museum .

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What Lowrey’s Brigade faced at the Battle of Franklin from soldiers’ views - “It is the blackest page in the history of the war of the Lost Cause. It was the bloodiest battle of modern times in any war. It was the finishing stroke to the independence of the Southern Confederacy. I was there. I saw it. My flesh trembles, and creeps, and crawls when I think of it today. My heart almost ceases to beat at the horrid recollection…The death angel was there to gather its last harvest. It was the grand coronation of death.” [Sam R. Watkins, Co. H, 1 st Tennessee] “The next morning, the 30th (of November), we were up early, called the roll, and struck out through woods, across fields, and waded creeks, but we got to Franklin all the same. I suppose it was between three and four o'clock in the afternoon when we formed on the right of the (Columbia) pike, our left extending to the pike. We were the second line (behind Govan’s and Granbury’s Brigades of Cleburne’s Division).” [Private Batchelor, Co. K, 33rd Alabama, Lowrey’s Brigade] “Through the woods came the rebel column, and filing off to the right and left in plain view they presented one of the grandest pageants we had ever beheld as regiments, brigades and divisions marched out and formed in line, with colors flying, to the blare of trumpet and the rattle of drum, with all the pomp and circumstance of glorious war.” [Private Nelson A. Pinney, Co. D, 104 th Ohio] “Just before the charge was ordered, the brigade passed over an elevation from which we beheld the magnificent spectacle the battlefield presented. The bands were playing, general and staff officers were riding in front of and between the lines, a hundred battle flags were waving in the smoke of battle, and bursting shells were wreathing the air in great circles of smoke, while twenty thousand brave men were marching in perfect order against the foe.” [Colonel Ellison Capers, 24 th South Carolina]

"The salient of our (first) line was near the (Columbia) pike. There the opposing lines met in a hand-to-hand encounter. Our line, overwhelmed by the weight of numbers, quickly gave way…They were coming on a run, emitting the shrill rebel charging yell and so close that my first impulse was to drop flat on the ground and let them charge over me. But…I shouted to my company: ‘Fall back, Fall back!” and gave (them) an example of how to do it by turning and running for the breastworks…” [Capt. John K. Shellenbarger, 64 th Ohio] “How grandly, how swiftly, they swept up that beautiful slope, after the flying fugitives (from our first line) in their breakneck race, and so close upon their heels, that by the time our boys were climbing the breastworks of our main line, many of the ‘Johnnies’ were there with them.” [Private Nelson A. Pinney, Co. D, 104 th Ohio] “Our first line captured the first line of the Federal works, a ‘temporary.’ You claim that in your front the two lines of works were half a mile apart. In our front I think they were about one hundred yards apart. Our orders were not to stop at the first work, but to cross over the second line. A few of us obeyed orders. How many poor fellows never reached the second line.” [Private Andrew Jackson Batchelor, Co. K, 33 rd Alabama, Lowrey’s Brigade]

“As the confused mass of fleeing Federal soldiers approached the Union fortifications, Rebels close behind them, the defenders were in a quandary. They could not shoot at the approaching Confederates without hitting their own men. The Southerners saw the situation and took up the cry: ‘Into the works with them.’ They swept over the breastworks, and surged forward.” [Franklin by Allen Parfitt] “All this time not a gun had been fired from our main line, but now, as soon as our boys had gained the cover of the works, we opened all along the line of attack with the shock of an earthquake…” [Private Nelson A. Pinney, Co. D, 104 th Ohio] “A sheet of fire was poured into our very

May 8, 2006 34 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag faces…(and) the terrible avalanche of shot and shell laid low those brave and gallant heroes…” [Sam R. Watkins, Co. H, 1 st Tennessee]

“A few rods from our front line General Pat Cleburne fell, pierced by seventeen rifle balls. Finding that they could not take our line, they lay down in the ditch in front, where some of them crawled to the embrasures and began to shoot down the gunners. Noticing this, John Hunt, of company D, crawled under one of the guns, from whence he picked them off as soon as they showed their heads in the embrasure. Lieutenant Wm. F. Kemble, of Company C, was conspicuous for his bravery, throwing axes, hatchets and anything that came to hand into the seething mass of rebels in front, till a rebel bullet laid him cold in death. ‘Remember Utoy Creek’ was our battle cry on that eventful day, and well did the men of the 1st brigade avenge themselves on the enemies. For half an hour we kept up this terrible fire, much of the time amid smoke so dense that we could distinguish nothing at the distance of a rod.” [Private Nelson A. Pinney, Co. D, 104 th Ohio]

“General Patrick R. Cleburne, Battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864” by Civil War artist Don Troiani

In describing the assault on the Federal lines by Lowrey’s Brigade, Gen. Mark P. Lowrey recounted this terrible moment in his post-war autobiographical letter:

“In the engagement at Franklin, my brigade was in the second line (on the east side of the Columbia Pike behind Govan’s and Granbury’s brigades, the brigade’s left extending to the pike). The enemy was driven from his first line, but checked our forces at his second line. I brought up my brigade (probably about 4:30 to 4:45 p.m.), and under the most destructive fire I ever witnessed, I threw my brigade into the outside ditch of his May 8, 2006 35 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag massive works, and my men fought the enemy across the parapet. Up to this time about half my men had fallen, and the balance could not scale the works. It would have been certain death or capture to every one of them. I went on my horse to within 30 feet of the works, where I had my horse wounded, and when I saw nothing else could be done I went to the rear, and began the work of gathering up the fragments of (Cleburne’s) division.

“I then commanded the division a few days (because Gen. Cleburne had been killed at the Battle of Franklin) before the Battle of Nashville, when Brigadier-General James A. Smith (wounded at Atlanta and was not at Franklin), who ranked me by four days in date of appointment, came to the division, and was entitled to his command of it.” [Former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

As the early evening darkness began to cover the battlefield, the intense fighting and awful carnage continued between the southwest corner of Carter’s Cotton Gin and the “gap” on the Columbia Pike at Franklin. Between about 4:30 and 4:45 p.m., Thirty-one year old First Corporal Joseph T. McBride, color bearer for the Third Mississippi Battalion, led his unit carrying this banner all the way to the enemy’s fortifications during the second major Confederate assault that included the members of Lowrey’s Brigade, boldly and brazenly planted this historic flag in the thick smoke of battle atop the Federal works, and soon thereafter lost his life.

Fountain B. Carter’s Cotton Gin, Franklin, Tennessee

Period view looking northeast from Columbia Pike. First Corporal Joseph T. McBride, Color Bearer, Third Mississippi Infantry Battalion, planted his banner on the Union breastworks east of the Columbia Pike in the area to the left (west) of Carter’s Cotton Gin, and there gave up his life on the evening of November 30, 1864 at the Battle of Franklin. (Photo courtesy Carter House Association, Inc.)

Private Andrew Jackson Batchelor, 33 rd Alabama, related his account of the battle:

“I could not see their works until within a few yards of them, the smoke was so dense. When I reached the ditch, it was filled with dead and wounded Confederates. I walked over on dead men. There were five or six of us near our colors, but all fell in the

May 8, 2006 36 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag ditch but myself. Our colors were just over the works. I ran up on the works at the corner of the old ginhouse. I threw my gun down on the works at the corner of the ginhouse. Just then I was jerked over the works.” [Private Andrew Jackson Batchelor, Co. K, 33 rd Alabama, Lowrey’s Brigade]

Private Nelson A. Pinney, 104 th Ohio, related his account of this part of the battle:

“The smoke had lifted but little when we could see rags upon bayonets from the ditch in front, and could hear them calling out, ‘For God’s sake, don’t shoot, and we’ll give up and come in.’ Of course, over a thousand were captured by our brigade, of whom two hundred survivors of the 16th Alabama, and as many more of the others commands, fell into the hands of the 104 th (Ohio Volunteer Infantry), as well as eleven rebel battle flags. But it was not by any means a bloodless victory for us. The 104 th had sixty killed and wounded, besides, perhaps a dozen of our skirmishers taken prisoners.

”Just at dusk [about 5:00 p.m.] the 104 th was ordered to make a reconnaissance in front of the lines. Clambering over the works we formed in a line outside and moved on our slow and tedious way along the ground over which the rebels came in their headlong charge. The sights and sounds which greeted us as we grouped along were enough to shock a heart of stone. Along the front of our line the dead and dying lay piled up promiscuously in the ditch, sometimes eight feet deep, while as we passed over the ground we were often obliged to pick our way most carefully along, to avoid tramping on the bodies with which the ground was strewn. On every hand the wounded men would cry for mercy: ‘O, for God’s sake, give me water.’ Don’t kill me for God’s sake,’ as though they thought we might be brutal enough to harm a dying man. We found no enemy in front except these fallen ones, so we returned to our place on the line.” [Private Nelson A. Pinney, Co. D, 104 th Ohio]

“Union and Confederate troops, Mississippians, Ohioans, Illinoisans, Indianians, fought hand-to-hand in the dark for possession of the parapets and their flags…The ditch in front of the works was a mass of gray and brown bodies, a blur of faces and claw like hands. Here and there the dead were piled four and five deep. Dead men who had no more room to fall stood upright in the pile still holding their rifles with their faces still set toward the vanished foe. [Steven Cone, reenactor, Company K, 46 th Tennessee]

The Medal of Honor was awarded to Private John H. Ricksecker, Company E, 104 th Ohio Volunteer Infantry for capturing the 16 th Alabama Infantry Regiment’s battle flag near Carter’s Cotton Gin. This was in the vicinity of where many surviving members of the 16 th Alabama had surrendered, probably along with members of the Mississippi 5 th , 8 th and 32 nd Regiments and 3 rd Battalion.

The commanding officer losses in Lowrey's Brigade and Cleburne's Division, were:

Cleburne’s Division: Maj.-Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne, commanding, killed in first major assault in vicinity of where Gen. Granbury was killed, two horses also killed

Lowrey's Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Mark P. Lowrey, commanding, survived, horse wounded, assumed division command until Brig.-Gen. James A. Smith’s arrival

May 8, 2006 37 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

• 16 th Alabama, Col. F.A. Ashford, killed • 33 rd Alabama, Col. R.F. Crittenden, missing • 45 th Alabama, Lieut. Col. R.H. Abercrombie, wounded • 3rd Battl. & 5 th Regt. Mississippi (Consolidated), Col. John Weir, wounded • 8th & 32 nd Regt’s. Mississippi (Consolidated), Col. W.H.H. Tison, wounded

Granbury’s Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Hiram B. Granbury, commanding, killed

Govan’s Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Daniel C. Govan, commanding, survived

Carnton Plantation and McGavock Confederate Cemetery - On November 30, 1864, the tragedy of the Battle of Franklin, so devastating to the Confederacy, unfolded in the fields near Carnton, home of John and Carrie McGavock. Over 20,000 soldiers in the Army of Tennessee attacked well-fortified Union breastworks at the southern edge of town. Soon the McGavocks would witness the carnage of war as they opened the doors of their home to be used as a field hospital for wounded Confederates.

Carnton was established in 1826 by Randal McGavock, a former mayor of Nashville and the father of John. The name Carnton derives from the Gaelic word cairn which means a pile of stones raised to mark a memorable event or to honor a fallen hero. The plantation was the home to several generations of the McGavock family and the African-American families who lived as slaves on the property.

Everyday life for the McGavocks was different than most families. The McGavocks were wealthy. In 1860, the average Middle Tennessee family owned about $9,800 in property. John McGavock owned $150,000. With this type of advantage, the McGavocks did not have to work their fields or garden. The slave servants, field hands, and skilled laborers did all menial tasks, such as tending the garden, minding the crops in the fields and the livestock, mending the outbuildings when damaged, keeping the mansion clean, and even watching the McGavock children. With so much time on their hands, the McGavocks could afford the luxury of an education and traveling around the .

During the Civil War, Carnton Plantation suffered financially with the loss of its slave labor and the economic devastation of the South. Although little is mentioned about the daily life of the McGavocks during the war years, without slaves the McGavocks probably only raised enough food at Carnton to feed the family and the fields probably went unplanted. Following the war, Carnton no longer thrived as a plantation. The acres around the home were leased to tenant farmers, and over the years all but about 48 acres were eventually sold.

In 1866, John and Carrie McGavock, concerned about the burial conditions of the Confederate dead who had been buried in shallow graves where they fell, designated nearly two acres of land near their family cemetery for the re-interment of close to 1,500 Confederates. Today, the McGavock Confederate Cemetery is a lasting memorial honoring those fallen soldiers, and is the largest privately owned military cemetery in the nation.

The McGavock family owned Carnton until 1911. In 1978, the Carnton Association, Inc., rescued the house from years of neglect and disrepair. This organization

May 8, 2006 38 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag has been vital in restoring and maintaining the plantation through membership, special events, donations, tours admissions, and museum store sales.

[Above reprinted courtesy of Carnton Association, Inc., Franklin, Tennessee]

“…the wounded, in hundreds, were brought to [Carnton] during the battle, and all the night after. And when the noble old house could hold no more, the yard was appropriated until the wounded and dead fill that…” [Col. W.D. Gale, Adjutant General of Stewart’s Corp, Army of Tennessee]

Carnton Plantation, Franklin, Tennessee: View From McGavock Confederate Cemetery

Historic Carnton Plantation on the top of a small rise - back porch overlooks McGavock Confederate Cemetery at Franklin, Tennessee; final resting place of this flag’s brave and gallant color bearer, First Corporal Joseph Thomas McBride, Third Mississippi Battalion.

Carnton Plantation overlooks McGavock Confederate Cemetery and the grave of color bearer First Corporal Joseph Thomas McBride. McBride lost his life during the Battle of Franklin after carrying this flag to the Union breastworks at the forefront of family, friends and neighbors from Simpson County, Mississippi who were all members of the Third Mississippi Infantry Battalion. After planting his battle flag on top of the Union’s defenses, McBride was killed in the resulting action that followed. Two of his wife Nancy (Byrd) McBride’s first cousins who had enlisted with her husband in October 1861, brothers Darling Barlow and John W. Barlow, Sr., were captured during the engagement, and were most likely at McBride’s side when he lost his life. Having a history of fistfights and hand-to-hand fighting in the Civil War, it can be assumed the burly McBride didn’t go down without putting up a good fight first.

Five of the Confederate Army's rising star field commanders, including Generals Patrick R. Cleburne, John Adams, States Rights Gist, Hiram Granbury and Otho F. Strahl were killed in the assault, and John C. Carter was mortally wounded. Following the Battle of Franklin four of these six Confederate general officers were reportedly brought to Carnton Plantation and laid out on the back porch side by side: Cleburne, Adams, Granbury

May 8, 2006 39 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag and Strahl. John McGavock, owner of Carnton Plantation, collected the bodies of 1,496 Confederate soldiers from shallow graves at the battlefield, and buried them on his land.

Fountain B. Carter House and Battle of Franklin - The small town of Franklin, Tennessee had been a Federal (Union) military post since the fall of Nashville in early 1862. Late in the summer of 1864, Confederate President replaced commander Joseph E. Johnston with John Bell Hood. General Hood, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and known for his superb record with his "Texas Brigade," suffered from a withered arm and amputated leg. Hood begins to formulate his "Tennessee Campaign of 1864" with the main objective to drive Sherman away from Atlanta and Robert E. Lee's forces.

Under Hood's command, The Army of Tennessee moved up through Georgia, Alabama, crossed the Tennessee River, and then entered Tennessee. November 30, 1864 had been a beautiful Indian summer day. At dawn, the Confederacy marched north from Spring Hill, Tennessee in pursuit of fleeing Federal forces. General Hood was determined to destroy the Union Army before it reached Nashville.

The Battle of Franklin has been called "the bloodiest hours of the ." Called "The Gettysburg of the West," Franklin was one of the few night battles in the Civil War. It was also one of the smallest battlefields of the war (only 2 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide). The main battle began around 4:00 pm and wound down around 9:00 pm. The Federal Army had arrived in Franklin around 1:00 that morning. Brigadier General Jacob Dolson Cox led the operation and woke up the Carter family, commandeering their home as his headquarters. At that time, the Carter Farm consisted of 288 acres on the south edge of town bordering the Columbia Pike. Their cotton gin (pictured, page 10) was located 100 yards from the house where eventually the main line of Federal breastworks was constructed. The Federal line commander was Cox who supervised his army in a defensive position surrounding the southern edge of town. He used the existing breastworks built in 1863 and constructed others on the west side of Columbia Pike. About 60 feet from the Carter House, near their farm office and smokehouse, were the inner breastworks.

S.D. Lee's Corps arrived late with only 1 division participating in the battle. By 2:00 pm Hood had made plans for a frontal assault. By 2:30 pm a conference was held at the Harrison House. Strong objections were voiced from Hood's commanders. General Cheatham said, "I don't like the looks of this fight, as the enemy has a good position and is well fortified." Generals Cleburne and Forrest (cavalry) knew they would be flirting with disaster. But Hood would not be dissuaded. As Cleburne mounted his horse to leave, Hood gave strict orders for the assault. Cleburne responded, "We will take the works or fall in the attempt." The Army of Tennessee knew this assault on the town of Franklin would be suicidal. They bravely advanced toward the Carter House with their heads held high.

The fighting soon became brutal and fiendishly savage, with men bayoneted and clubbed to death in the Carter yard. A Confederate soldier was bayoneted on the front steps of the Carter House. Men were clubbing, clawing, punching, stabbing and choking each other. The smoke from the canons and guns was so thick that you could not tell friend from foe.

May 8, 2006 40 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

During the five hours of fighting, the Carter Family took refuge in their basement. 23 men, women and children (many under the age of 12) were safely protected while the horrible cries of war rang out above them. The head of the family, Fountain Branch Carter, a 67-year old widower, had seen 3 of his sons fight for the Confederacy. One son, Theodrick (Tod), was serving as an aid for General T.B. Smith on the battlefield and saw his home for the first time in 3 years. Crying out, "Follow me boys, I'm almost home," Captain Tod Carter was mortally wounded and died 2 days later at the Carter House.

Civil War Fighting at the Fountain B. Carter Homestead, Franklin, Tennessee “High Tide at Carter House” by artist John Black, 1992

Left to right: Fountain B. Carter home, farm office, and Carter’s cotton gin (far right); Cleburne’s Division Hardee pattern flag in center.

After the battle, like so many homes in Franklin, the parlor of the Carter House was converted into a Confederate field hospital and witnessed many surgeries and amputations. Around midnight, the Federal Army retreated to Nashville to join the forces of General George Thomas [and preparations made for the upcoming Battle of Nashville].

[Above reprinted courtesy of the Carter House Association, Inc., Franklin, Tennessee]

Finding this flag and discovering its heritage – In May of 2002 this flag was pictured on the front of a McCurdy Auction Service public estate sale flyer that was to be held on June 4th in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas to sell the personal property of two local Gregory family descendants who had recently passed away. The black and white photo had the printed caption "Confederate Civil War Flag" underneath, then gave a brief description and listed five battle honors - "SHILOH, PERRYVILLE, MURFREESBORO, CHICKAMAUGA and RINGGOLD-GAP". While getting ready for the sale, an auction helper had found the flag stuffed in the drawer of an antique treadle sewing machine stored in a garage. Surviving members of this Gregory family living in and around Wichita were only able to recall that their “Great-Uncle Bill” Gregory, followed by Bill’s son, “Heavy,” as having this flag in their possession, and that it meant nothing to any of the surviving family members. They knew the flag had been in the Gregory family’s possession since at least about 1938 when their Great-Uncle Ralph Willard "Bill" Gregory had shown it to some of them folded in his hands. Ralph Willard Gregory died in 1939 and it was then passed on to his eldest son, Thomas Edson "Heavy" Gregory, who died in 1962. This flag then came into the possession of Valeda Marjory (Gregory) Newman, youngest sister of Thomas Edson Gregory, until Mrs. Newman passed away in February 2002. Upon her death, Valeda’s only child, Jacqueline Ruth "Jackie" Newman, would have automatically inherited the right of ownership to this flag, but unfortunately Jackie died on April 3, 2002,

May 8, 2006 41 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag less than two months after her mother had passed away, which brought about the events that led up to the flag’s discovery and the subsequent public estate auction.

Gregory family members didn’t know any ancestor in the Civil War. Four days after the estate auction it was determined through genealogical and historical research that Ralph Willard Gregory was the son of Private John T. Gregory, a Union Civil War soldier who was originally from Indiana and Illinois before removing to Sedgwick County, Kansas in the early 1870’s. Gregory had enlisted as a Private in the Indiana Light Artillery, 2 nd Battery, on November 3, 1864 at Indianapolis, Indiana, and was mustered in on November 4th. Private Gregory was part of the new Union recruiting program that was authorized for the fall of 1864. According to the Muster Roll Card for Gregory, he was 5'11", light hair, "21" years of age, and a farmer from “Madison County, Indiana.” However, Private John T. Gregory was actually only 17 years old and resided in Marshall County, Illinois with his mother, Anna Bustle (Caldwell) Gregory-Jones, and his stepfather, Henry Alexander Jones, at the time of his enlistment according to family and historical records.

A week after the estate auction, the new “caretaker” of this flag was contacted by Confederate flag historian Howard Michael Madaus, and soon thereafter by a curator at the Mississippi Department of Archives & History in Jackson, Mississippi. Howard Madaus was the first person to provide the correct identification of this flag as having been issued to the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi (Consolidated). The curator reported the Mississippi Department of Archives & History has the largest collection of Civil War Mississippi regimental battle flags - 53 in all - but do not have an example of a Hardee/Cleburne flag in their collection other than that of Swett’s Mississippi Battery of Hotchkiss’ Battalion.

John T. Gregory was born January 30, 1847 at or near Huntsville, Madison County, Indiana and spent his early years in Madison County where he had immediate family, including siblings, uncles and cousins. Between September 1850 and 1854, John’s father, Adison Gregory, died and his mother, Anna (Caldwell) Gregory, re-married a first cousin of Adison’s, Henry A. Jones. Prior to May 1858 the Henry Jones family removed to Illinois, residing in the Marshall County and Woodford County areas, but when Gregory decided to enlist in the United States army at age 17 in 1864 he returned to Indiana.

Private Gregory's recruitment into the newly reorganized Indiana Light Artillery, 2nd Battery at Indianapolis, Indiana was the result of many of the regiment's veterans fulfilling their term of service during the summer of 1864. After the reorganization, Gregory's regiment was assigned to the Garrison at Nashville, Tennessee in November, where he arrived by about the first of December 1864. During the Battle of Nashville, December 15th and 16th, the 2 nd Indiana Light Artillery was most likely actively involved in the regular bombarding of the Confederate troops that took place before and during the battle. About the 18th of December, Private Gregory was sent back to Indianapolis, Indiana with symptoms of typhoid fever, so he may not have participated in the actual battle due to his illness. Private Gregory remained at Indianapolis until mustered out there on July 3, 1865 with an honorable discharge.

It has not yet been determined how a 17-year-old Union soldier assigned to a garrison artillery battery in the City of Nashville was able to come by this flag. It was quite possibly captured on the Franklin battlefield by a friend or relative in an Illinois or Indiana

May 8, 2006 42 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag regiment, and given to Gregory sometime during the two week period between the Battle of Franklin and the Battle of Nashville as a war souvenir to take with him when he was sent back to Indianapolis. However, it is known that two of the eleven flags captured by the 104 th Ohio Volunteer Infantry at Franklin were reportedly sent home as war souvenirs:

“Eleven battle-flags were taken in front of our lines (two by Color-Corporal Newton H. Hall, Company I, who shot their bearers, and crossed over and captured them during the heaviest of the firing); 9 of them were turned over to brigade headquarters; the others are reported as having been sent to friends at home by mail before it was known by the captors that they should be turned over, or orders received requiring it.” (Official Report of Colonel O.W. Sterl, 104 th Ohio Vol. Inf., O.R.) [Annotated quote courtesy Mr. David Frayley, Carter House Museum, Franklin, Tennessee]

John T. Gregory returned to Illinois after being mustered out of the Union Army, where he married Lamanda Ann "Amanda" Hadlock on October 25, 1866 in Woodford County. The couple made their home in Marshall County, Illinois, and then removed to Kansas in the early 1870’s, sometime between July 1871 and January 1875, with their three young sons: Charles A. "Charley," George E. and Ralph Willard "Bill" Gregory. Between Christmas, 1870 and New Years Day, 1871, John T. Gregory's sister, Louisa J. Gregory, arrived in Sedgwick County with their mother and stepfather and four half-siblings, and they homesteaded in the northeast part of the county. The Henry A. Jones family had come to Sedgwick County, Kansas by way of the railroad from Minonk, Illinois, to Emporia, Kansas. The last leg of their trip from Emporia to northeast Sedgwick County was in a lumber wagon pulled by a team of oxen. Information on this family was extracted from an eyewitness's three-page missive written by John T. Gregory's half sister, Mary Ann Jones- Weeks, sometime prior to her death in 1953. Mary Ann was born in Minonk, Illinois in 1858, and was about 12 1/2 years old when she made the trip to Kansas with John Gregory's sister, Louisa. John T. Gregory died July 2, 1918, and was buried next to his wife, Amanda (Hadlock) Gregory, on July 3, 1918 in Highland Cemetery, Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas in Block 2, Lot 83, Grave 5. John Gregory’s obituary was published in the Wichita Eagle on July 4, 1918.

Flag authentication at lab of Textile Preservation Associates, Keedysville, Maryland; Fonda Thomsen, Pres., and Rob Swinson May 8, 2006 43 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

Flag authentication - This flag has been personally inspected and authenticated by Confederate flag historian Howard Michael Madaus. It has also been personally inspected and analyzed by flag preservationist Fonda Thomsen, Textile Preservation Associates, and well documented in her detailed “Analysis Report” that includes vacuum-sealed flag thread samples. Fonda’s examination of this flag, that included thread, material and photographic analysis, substantiated that different persons probably made four major repairs to the flag at various times in the field during the Civil War. This determination was based on different stitching methods for the repairs, types of threads used and material applied for backing.

Unpublished Sources - Documents and Items of Support :

(1) Private Stephen Johnston Harrod, Company D, 3 rd Mississippi Battalion: copy and transcription of his personal 30 page Civil War memoir notebook hand-written for him in 1914 by his wife as dictated to her due to his inability to write – notebook includes only known reference written by a Confederate or Union soldier documenting the actual identification of the “Barefoot Brigade;” Private Harrod was captured June 27, 1864 at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia while fighting under this same Hardee/Cleburne battle flag and spent remainder of the war at Camp Douglas Prison in Chicago, Illinois until exchanged February 20, 1865; was transported in the back of a wagon because of a very severe case of scurvy caused by the prison conditions at Camp Douglas to Hospital No. 9, also known as Seabrook's Hospital, Receiving and Wayside or Distributing Hospital, in Richmond, Virginia until it was closed, which probably occurred near the end of March 1865, before the Confederate army vacated Richmond on April 2, 1865; Private Harrod was turned out with a pair of crutches and very little food for the 42 day trip walking back to his home in Choctaw County, Mississippi; Private Harrod is survived by one child, now in her mid-90’s [see #2 and #3];

“The Billboard of Richmond” - Hospital No. 9., Richmond, Virginia

Known as "the billboard of Richmond" because it was always well "papered" with show and circus sheets, announcements, and political placards. (Post war photo and Hospital No. 9 information courtesy of Civil War Richmond, Inc., copyrighted @ 2004)

May 8, 2006 44 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

(2) Over one hour of recorded interviews [transcriptions pending] with the only living authenticated daughter or son whose father fought during the Civil War in the 3 rd Battalion Mississippi Infantry, the 32 nd & 45 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment (Consolidated), the 33 rd Mississippi (Hardcastle’s) Volunteers; and the 45th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry;

Stephen Johnston Harrod, Wife Velma Stephenie Johnston Harrod, Feb. 2005 & Daughter Stephenie Johnston, 1915

(3) Ms. Stephenie Johnston Harrod - the only person still living whose father fought in the 32 nd , the 33 rd (Hardcastle’s) or the 45 th Mississippi Regiments, or the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion - her father was captured while fighting under this flag at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia; Stephenie’s father was 72 when he married her mother, then only 27 years of age, in 1906; Stephenie, now approaching mid-90’s, has recently been in failing health; in 2005 her recollections, including a Confederate flag burning incident in 1920 in her mother’s back yard at their home in Arkansas, her father’s military service during the Civil War, and his capture at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain with three comrades that was followed by seven months of harsh confinement at Camp Douglas Prison, were incredibly accurate when compared to historical records and first person accounts; (4) Copy of 28 page 1906 type-written memoir by Captain Phares Waldo Shearer, Co. K, 3 rd Mississippi Battalion, that provides an account of the Mississippi 3 rd Battalion and 45 th Regiment the during the Civil War; (5) Biography, no date (circa 1982-1983), 55 pages with notes and sources, “Col. Aaron B. Hardcastle and the 45 th Mississippi Infantry Regiment;” (6) Copies of two transcribed diaries (pre-Civil War) by Aaron Bascom Hardcastle; (7) Biography, 1967, of General Mark P. Lowrey by a descendant; (8) Biography, 1976, 203 pages with sources, on General Mark P. Lowrey; (9) Copies of several pages of Civil War letters by various members of the 3rd Battalion/45 th Regiment Mississippi Infantry; (10) Copies of 46 pages of Civil War era letters written by Privates Samuel Lemon Settle and Thomas Benjamin Settle (brothers), Company

May 8, 2006 45 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

D, 32 nd Mississippi Regiment, and other family members and friends between 1860 and 1864 [transcriptions pending]; (11) Extensive annotated family genealogical profiles on many important and key individuals associated with the 3 rd Mississippi Battalion/32 nd & 45 th Mississippi Regiments, including the units’ organizers, Mark P. Lowrey and Aaron B. Hardcastle, and those who were in possession of the battle flag during the Civil War, First Corporal Joseph T. McBride (includes Byrd and Barlow) and Private John T. Gregory; also Private Stephen J. Harrod, Capt. Phares W. Shearer (includes Lt. Col. Charlton and Kern brothers), Settle brothers and other 32 nd & 45 th members; and (12) Memoir, before 1953, by Mary Ann (Jones) Weeks, half-sister of Private John T. Gregory, describing train and wagon trip from Illinois to Sedgwick County, Kansas in December 1870; details of her family’s life as homesteaders on the wild Kansas prairie in northeastern Sedgwick County, surviving wildfires (you could only see a man’s head on horseback in the prairie grass), and experiencing grasshopper plagues, lost child in the high grass, sod homes, first school and Indian scares.

Published Sources (Partial List) - Documents and Items of Support :

(1) Personal Civil War libraries of knowledgeable Civil War historians and researchers; (2) Transcribed autobiographical letter written by former Brigadier-General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA, dated September 20, 1867; (3) Transcribed diary of Private John T. Kern, Company K, 3 rd Mississippi Battalion, entries from January 1, 1864 to August 21, 1864, with annotations added by compiler; (4) Transcribed diary of Lt. Samuel L. Asbury, Company F, 3 rd Mississippi Battalion, captured after Battle of Murfreesboro - entries from January 1863 to August 1864 while in prison and in hospital; (5) Transcribed letters by some members of 3 rd Mississippi Battalion; and (6) Numerous documents pertaining to the regiments and members.

Additional Identified Sources (Mostly Unpublished) Include:

(1) Location of two large boxes of documents “about 2 feet high” on Colonel Aaron B. Hardcastle, including his family background and Civil War activities as organizer and first commander of the Third Battalion Mississippi Infantry; (2) Location of 302 pages of original unpublished documents associated with Aaron B. Hardcastle and his military career prior to the Civil War, no duplicate documents to Item #1; (3) Location of 60 pages of unpublished Civil War era letters including some by Captain Phares W. Shearer, his younger brother, Oliver V. Shearer, who served in Cleburne’s Division, and other family members; (4) Location pending of a third unpublished Lowrey biography; (5) Location of several unpublished Civil War letters about and by members of the Mississippi 32 nd and 45 th (Consolidated) and 45 th Regiment;

May 8, 2006 46 HARDEE / CLEBURNE 1864 (Type 1) Battle Flag

(6) Location of unpublished soldier’s personal Civil War diary that includes entries from early January 1863 to mid-1864 by member of the 32 nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment; and (7) Location pending of a second diary by an officer of the 32 nd Mississippi.

Contact Information - If you have comments, questions or additional information to contribute regarding the history of this flag, including its officers and enlisted men, any of their Mississippi regiments and battalion, General Mark P. Lowrey’s Brigade or General Patrick R. Cleburne’s Division in which they served - especially unpublished sources such as photographs, letters, diary, memoir, artifact or item of interest - please send an email to: [email protected] .

Work in progress – Manuscripts are in the process of being prepared for publication that include a biography on Brigadier General Mark Perrin Lowrey, CSA and the history of Lowrey’s Brigade; the regimental histories of the Mississippi 3 rd Battalion, and Mississippi 32 nd , 33 rd (Hardcastle’s) and 45 th Regiments; and a biography on Colonel Aaron Bascom Hardcastle, CSA. Many of the unpublished sources discovered during the past few years have never been available or not readily available to the general public. Some of the best sources for locating unpublished documents and related information has been accomplished by identifying and contacting several surviving descendants of regimental members and officers. If you have information to contribute that may be associated with this flag’s provenance and history, including members of the Army of the Confederacy who served under it, or Union regiments that fought against them, please send an email identifying your type of information and source to the address provided above.

“…such a book as you propose to write must not be hastily gotten up. For it is a matter of great importance that it be prepared with the greatest care, and be scrupulously correct; as it will amply repay the labor required, and will not only be read by this generation, but it will be read with interest by generations yet unborn.”

[Former Brigadier-General Mark P. Lowrey, CSA, Ripley, Miss., Sept. 20, 1867]

Civil War Name Research and Genealogy Reports Fee Research Service Available on Request Please send all known information (name; regiment, if known; photos and family genealogy, if available; and description of support documents, if any) and email request for quote to: [email protected]

Civil War Flag Provenance & Regimental History Reports Fee Research Service Available on Request Please send all known information (regiment issued to, if known; regiment, location and date, if captured; photo; and support documents, if any) and email request for quote to: [email protected]

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